Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal
by jumpin
Summary: RATED R The entire crew has turned against Seven, B'Elanna, and Naomi. Former freinds and family are plotting against them and they only each other to depend on. COMPLETE
1. Hatred

Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal

Part One

A beautiful blonde woman stood with her eyes closed on the dais of a mechanical alcove. Her eyes were closed as if she were asleep. A metallic implant covered her right eyebrow, and a starburst implant rested behind her ear. Her hand was also encased with a metallic exoskeleton. She was dressed in a deep blue bio suit that clung to her body tightly, almost as a second skin.

"Regeneration cycle complete," The feminine voice of the computer said, waking the woman from her trance.

Her name was Seven of nine tertiary adjunct to unimatrix 01, or Seven as the rest of the crew referred to her.

It was less than a year ago that Seven was freed from the Borg. A species of aliens that used technology to enslave the minds of anyone that was unfortunate enough to get assimilated into their collective mind.

Becoming an individual again had been difficult for the woman. Her speech patterns and general behavior seemed off putting to the rest of the crew. Some saw her behavior as rude, instead of a person struggling to fit in with a group of people that for all intents and purposes were alien to her.

Seven stepped out of her alcove into the huge expanse of cargo bay two. It was the only place aboard the starship Voyager that her alcove could be set up. The rest of the technology on Voyager was not compatible with her alcove, the one thing that she needed to live.

In exactly one hour she had to be ready for the senior staff meeting. Today was the day Seven would submit her formal request for a 2.35 power increase to Astrometrics.

As the Astrometrics officer aboard Voyager she felt that she needed as much extra power as possible to complete her scans and course recommendations.

Voyager was trapped in the delta quadrant, one of the four divisions of the universe. It was many light years from home and knowledge of the space they would be traveling through was of great importance. It was only recently that they had even begun to receive communications from the alpha quadrant, the home for the vast majority of the crew.

Seven had spent 2.3 hours the previous night researching the proper procedures and protocols for making a formal request. She felt confident that Lieutenant Torres, the Chief Engineer, would authorize it.

Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres stood a head shorter than Seven. She had brown hair and light olive colored complexion. She also had a set of cranial ridges upon her brow, a sign of her mixed heritage.

She was one half human, and the other half Klingon, a warrior race. It influenced much of her personality including her short temper when she felt she was wronged.

It was unfortunate that everything that Seven seemed to do was able to provoke the other woman. They were both equally at fault for their current working relationship.

B'Elanna was angered by the way Seven always acted as if she knew better than the rest of the senior staff, her included. She also saw fit to question her orders in the presence of the rest of the crew.

Seven found B'Elanna to be irrational and quick to display emotions that she had no way to know how to deal with. Most of the time it confused Seven which led to her even shorter responses to the Lieutenant, with what the chief engineer called "Borg speech."

As Seven stepped out of Cargo Bay 2, she noticed two crew members walking past her, looking at her discreetly.

"It's just a machine," one whispered. "We store it in the cargo bay, and we use it when we have to."

"I know, but we let it go where ever it wants on the ship. Pretty soon it might actually think that it's human." The second crewman countered with a scowl, as Seven turned the corner.

'_The majority of the crew suspends that type of conversation until they believe I can longer hear them.'_ Seven thought, frowning as she continued to the morning meeting.

Seven arrived at exactly 0855 hours to the ready room. It was the place where the senior staff always held their meetings. It was simply a separate room on the bridge which contained a table and chairs, enough to seat the senior staff.

She looked across the ready room to see Captain Kathryn Janeway. This was the woman that freed Seven from the Borg.

She was a short woman with brown hair that reached her shoulders. She was wearing a black jump suit with a red stripe across her shoulders which signified command and four pips along her collar to indicate her rank.

In the past Janeway had tired her best to help Seven adapt to life aboard Voyager and her new found individuality.

Lieutenant Torres was early for the meeting as well and was simply waiting quietly for everyone to arrive.

Mr. Neelix were early for the meeting as well. He was a short, stocky alien, native to the delta quadrant. He had small tufts of blonde hair on either side of his face, and bright yellow eyes.

He was given the job of moral officer, a task that had not existed until he came aboard. The man had quickly endeared himself to the rest of the crew with his optimistic behavior and willingness to listen to the problems of others.

Seven took her seat across from Lieutenant Torres and put her data pad down on the desk. She was usually greeted, or at least acknowledged, by the captain and Mr. Neelix whenever she entered the ready room, but this time she only received an angry glare from the pair of them.

Even though it disturbed her to receive such anger for simply entering a room Seven did not allow herself to show her discomfort. For the most part she ignored this strange and new behavior.

'_At least Lieutenant Torres is behaving consistently.'_ Seven thought as she watched the Klingon hybrid looking down at her data pad.

The door opened to admit a laughing Lieutenant Tom Paris, Chief Pilot, and Ensign Harry Kim, Ops Officer, to enter the briefing room. Their merriment stopped as soon as they saw Seven, and they stared pointedly at her before taking their seats.

Tom Paris was a man of average height with sandy blonde hair. To many he was the slightly childish but entertaining chief pilot.

He was the son of Admiral Paris, his father, a highly respected man near the top of Starfleet. The scientific exploration organization they were all a part of.

Harry Kim was the Ops officer of Voyager. He was a young man of oriental decent that in the beginning of their mission was fresh out of Starfleet. For the most part he was a friendly but slightly shy individual that was always chasing after the impossible girl whom he had no chance of having a relationship with.

Commander Tuvok, Chief of Security, entered soon after and took his usual seat. He was a full blooded Vulcan, another warrior race that had to suppress their emotions before they hunted each other to the point of extinction.

Two of the most distinguishing features about the man were his pointed ears and eyebrows that grew in two straight lines above his eyes.

The last to arrive were Commander Chakotay and the doctor. Chakotay was the second in command of Voyager. He was also a former member of the Maquis along with B'Elanna.

His brow was marked with a tribal tattoo, proof of his native American heritage. He kept his dark hair cropped shortly and carried himself with a certain amount of stiffness that made it seem strange whenever he showed an overly enthusiastic reaction to anything.

The doctor was probably the most unique member of the crew. He was a hologram that replaced the original chief medical officer that had died when they were first stranded in the delta quadrant.

He wore a green uniform and had balding black head of hair. He had never thought to simply program himself to have a full head of hair.

His personality was at best abrasive. He was rude and seemed to have no bedside manner whatsoever, but he had gradually won the respect of the rest of the crew.

"Well, since everyone is here, let's begin," Captain Janeway said. She then gave Seven another cold stare. "Seven I trust that you have completed your report on the next area of space."

"Yes Captain. The next region of space is inhabited by species 67, the Socadan." Seven informed the senior staff. "They are a highly advanced race that believe in the pursuit of knowledge above all else. The Borg assimilated them on star date 75.3.1334, this was also..."

"That can't be right." interrupted Lieutenant Paris, "The information we've received shows that the planet has a population of 500 million. If what you are saying were true then there wouldn't be anything left on the planet." Paris argued in a challenging tone.

Seven let out a sigh as Paris continued his rant. She had accepted the fact that her relationship with the Voyager crew had not improved since her forcible removal from the Collective, but she was still unable to determine why. She glanced at Paris, but he seemed nowhere near the end of what could only be called a tirade. As she looked around the room it appeared the rest of the senior staff was content to allow Paris free rein.

After a few, endless, minutes Tom seemed to be drawing to a close. _'Finally,' _Seven thought as she started to respond to his first question when she was cut off again, this time by Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres.

"SHUT UP! I've heard enough from you Paris! What would you know about alien civilizations or Borg assimilations anyway? The most intelligent thing I've ever seen you do is spell your name, and you can't even do that right half the time." B'Elanna snarled.

Paris's face turned dark red with anger, as he glowered at B'Elanna before responding, "At least I'm not some half breed trash, thinking they can fit in with rest of us."

"That is quite enough Lieutenant Torres." Captain Janeway said glaring at B'Elanna, completely ignoring the insulting remarks made by her chief pilot.

She then looked at Paris with a smirk and, in a sweet voice, said, "You have raised a valid point Tom, Seven's information doesn't come from the most trusted of sources."

Paris nodded, agreeing with the captain, and they both looked at B'Elanna and Seven with sneers on their faces.

On the inside B'Elanna was seething. _'What the hell does the captain think she's doing? First she lets everyone talk trash about Seven, after all the times she's saved us. She doesn't deserve this crap. She's proved to us that she can be trusted more times than I can count. Then Janeway lets Paris call me a half breed and acts like it's nothing.'_

Commander Tuvok came to Seven's defense next. "Actually Captain, the information the Seven has given us has been consistently accurate." he said, trying to bring some order back to the meeting.

"Well her information may be correct but that doesn't mean she's telling us the truth, it wouldn't be the first time that IT lied to us." Commander Chakotay sneered, giving Seven a look of contempt.

Seven lowered her head sadly with a sigh. She had come to the conclusion a few weeks back that if she did not respond to the comments, or make eye contact with the senior staff, then they would eventually stop. After a few moments of silence Seven decided it was safe to continue.

"May I finish my report now?" Seven asked in a subdued tone, still not looking up at anyone.

B'Elanna gaped at the rest of the senior staff incredulously. The entire crew was treating her and Seven worse than dirt, and she had no idea why. She was not really sure when it had started but she could almost feel the hatred coming off the other people in the room, and it was only making her angrier.

She and Seven had done more for Voyager than anyone else. If anything happened to them Voyager probably wouldn't be able to survive half the hostile alien encounters that they ran into. It had come to the point that the only person she could have any kind of conversation without being insulted was Seven.

She smiled at Seven, hoping it would be enough to reassure her. Seven began to smile back but she was pinned by another glare from the captain.

"Proceed." Captain Janeway ordered curtly, as she turned and narrowed her eyes at B'Elanna before turning to face Seven again.

Seven nodded and continued her report. "The Socadan was one of the first races to be assimilated by the Borg, and also the only race ever able to bargain with them. Their brain chemistry was not compatible with the assimilation process. They were able to retain their individuality, while imposing their thoughts directly onto the hive mind. The queen saw this as a threat and attempted to deactivate the Socadan drones, but they were able to block all of the queen's commands, forcing a stalemate. Eventually an agreement was reached. The Borg would release all the Socadan, and leave Socadan space permanently. In exchange the Socadan would not interfere with the Collective's plan to assimilate other species."

"Do you really expect us to believe the Borg would negotiate, let alone actually keep their word?" Chakotay said, looking at Seven as if she was out of her mind.

"The Borg will only attempt to re-assimilate or destroy the Socadan if they are able to adapt the assimilation process, or if Socadan intervene when the Borg assimilate another species." Seven responded, ignoring the interruption.

To be continued....


	2. United We stand

Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal

Part Two

When the meeting ended, B'Elanna started to stand up only to be forced back into her chair with a bump from Lieutenant Paris. She turned around to face him but he acted like she wasn't even there and continued out the door. Thinking it was just an accident, B'Elanna shook her head and began picking up her data pads. Attempting to stand again, she felt another shove and looked behind her to find that this time it was Ensign Kim who was responsible. He stared at her coldly before leaving as well.

'_What the hell is going on?'_ she thought. _'This doesn't feel like the Maquis against Starfleet thing, and anyway, Chakotay is on their side.'_ she concluded referring to hostilities that were present in the beginning when the maquis crew had to merge with the Starfleet crew in order to survive the delta quadrant.

"Was there something else, Lieutenant and Borg?" the captain inquired as she looked Seven up and down. "Or do you think that you could start doing your job?" she sneered from behind her chair.

B'Elanna looked around the room to find that only she and Seven were left in the room with the captain. She was about to say that she and Seven were the only ones that seemed to be doing their jobs recently, when Seven walked up to her.

"Lieutenant, I have a proposal I would like you to look over." she said as she handed her a data pad. She added in a quieter tone, "It would be counter productive to argue with them, Lieutenant. I will explain more in Astrometrics."

B'Elanna's gaze swapped between the captain and Seven. "I'm sorry Captain, it won't happed again." she said in a controlled voice before turning and leaving the ready room with Seven.

As B'Elanna made her way to engineering, the nerve center of Voyager Seven's words kept running through her head. _"It would be counter productive to argue with them. I will explain more in Astrometrics."_

B'Elanna then remembered the data pad that Seven had given her. Glancing over it quickly, she realized it was a proposal to increase power to Astrometrics. _'Surprise, surprise.'_ she thought.

As she read further she found herself growing more and more impressed. The proposal was brilliant. Not only did it show why the extra power was needed for Astrometrics but outlined a way to get it without diverting power from any of the other systems. Basically it was a new scanning program for the Astrometrics computer that eliminated the need to use multiple programs to correlate data. Streamlining the software meant the computer didn't have to expend energy switching back and forth between applications, providing all the extra power that Seven needed.

B'Elanna finished reading through the pad just as she reached engineering. Upon entering, she automatically scanned the room and found her eyes narrowing. Her entire staff was just standing around, apparently waiting for her to do something.

In the center of the room was the glowing warp reactor that reached from the first floor to the second. Off to the left side was her office where she did most of her paperwork.

"Why aren't any of you working?" B'Elanna demanded. "I made out a whole list of stuff that needs to be finished."

"We've been thinking," Lieutenant Carey began. "Why should we take orders from a half-breed like you? I can do this job better that you ever could. Hell, the only reason you have this job is because Janeway wanted an integrated crew."

Murmurs of agreement from the rest of the staff echoed throughout the room.

B'Elanna was seething. "Well despite what YOU think, I am still in charge of engineering, not YOU. So you will follow my orders or I will have you thrown in the brig for insubordination!"

Carey shouted back with just as much venom, "You may be in charge now but I am going to file a complaint with the captain. When I'm done you will be lucky to be allowed to set foot back in engineering."

B'Elanna was really confused now. "What the hell are you talking about, Carey, you're the ones that are disobeying orders?"

"Does it really matter? The captain is never going to believe anything you say anyway." Carey said smugly.

In that moment, B'Elanna knew she was stuck. She couldn't do anything to stop them, but she wouldn't give in, she was going to try to fight this.

"I need to take care of some things in Astrometrics and talk to the captain, I'll be back in a while," B'Elanna growled.

Carey just sneered before beginning to give orders to her staff.

As the doors closed behind B'Elanna, she thought, '_I hope Seven knows what's going on, and how to fix it, because I sure as Hell don't.'_

B'Elanna walked into the Astrometrics lab and looked around. It was a relatively small room with a console in center and a screen that spanned the entire back wall.

Currently it was displaying their present course through the delta quadrant.

"Did you have the time to look over my proposal, Lieutenant?" Seven asked without turning around, when the doors to Astrometrics opened to admit the Klingon.

"You know, one day you're going to have to tell me how you always know it's me."

B'Elanna said, smiling for the first time that day.

Seven turned around to look at B'Elanna. "It is actually a number of things, Lieutenant. The sound your footsteps make when you walk, the scent you give off, and the displacement of air when you enter the room."

"So you think I smell?" B'Elanna asked, trying hard not to laugh.

"No, no it is not that, well it is but the-" Seven stuttered and actually blushed.

"Relax, Seven, I was joking." B'Elanna interrupted, finally losing the battle with the urge to laugh.

"This is the first time someone has talked to me today without commenting on my Borg physiology. Thank you." Seven said softly.

"They've been saying the same stuff about my Klingon side too." B'Elanna said, becoming serious again. "You said you would explain what's going on. The way they're treating us; it happened almost over night."

"You are correct, Lieutenant. The crew began to 'hate' us approximately three weeks ago. The only ones that do not seem to have been affected are you, me, Commander Tuvok, and Naomi Wildman." Seven said referring to young half Katarian child that lived aboard Voyager.

Naiomi Wildman was the youngest member of the crew of Voyager. She had three small horns protruding from her the center of her forehead and reddish blonde hair that reached a little passed her shoulders.

From the moment that the little girl had met Seven she was intrigued by her. It had first started with Naiomi following Seven around the ship almost like a spy until she had gotten to know the woman.

The feelings of mistrust that she had in the beginning quickly melted away to form a sense of hero worship followed shortly by a solidifying friendship.

In the presence of Naiomi Seven allowed herself to experience some of the childhood that had been robbed from her by the Borg.

"Why isn't Tuvok affected?" B'Elanna asked. "I can see the connection between you, me and Naomi, but Tuvok doesn't make any sense."

"I have not been able to discern why Tuvok is not affected and yet not treated like us." Seven answered, also confused.

"At least with Naomi there's a connection, we're all women, we are all not completely human, and we've all played key roles in keeping Voyager safe."

"I do not understand, Lieutenant. When has Naomi Wildman played a key role in keeping Voyager safe?" Seven asked.

"It was during the time the alien entity was causing everyone except the two of you to hallucinate, she helped you to hold on to reality until we were safe." B'Elanna answered.

"I see now, the three of us are connected. However, it may not be in our best interests to assume the commander is unaffected. He is Vulcan and, as such, has been trained not to show emotions."

"Until we figure out what's going on I don't think that we should trust him. Before I came to Voyager Tuvok was a spy for the Federation, doing something like this is right up his alley." B'Elanna added.

"That would be something Tuvok could perform without difficulty," Seven agreed.

"There's another problem. By the end of the day I probably won't be head of engineering anymore." B'Elanna added sadly.

"Explain." Seven stated.

"The engineering crew is planning to file a complaint with the captain. They're going to make up something that will let the captain have what excuse she needs to throw me out of engineering."

"This could escalate into something worse, Lieutenant. They may be able to convince the captain that you should be put in the brig. At this point, our only option is a tactical retreat." replied Seven.

"I don't want to just give in but I see your point," B'Elanna conceded with a growl.

"Until we find out what is happening to the crew we will continue to be at a disadvantage."

"Do you have any ideas?" B'Elanna asked.

"Their objective is to remove you from engineering. If you told the captain that you wanted to be transferred, they would have no reason to escalate matters," Seven replied as a plan began to form in her mind.

"The captain would have control over where I was reassigned to. She's probably going to give me the worst possible job."

"Then we make her believe that working in Astrometrics is the worst job. It should not be difficult. The captain will believe that it is a chance to hurt both of us." Seven said with a small smile.

"I'm beginning to like the way you think, Seven." B'Elanna said, smiling back.

Ensign Kim laughed silently as he entered Cargo Bay 2. _'Everything is going according to plan. They're starting to give up, and pretty soon it's going to be too late to stop any of it.'_

Kim walked up to Seven's alcove and opened his tool box. _'You stupid bitch, you're not going to know what hit you. I'll be right there watching as you ask yourself what the hell is going on? Then, when you're just barely strong enough to stand up on your own, I'm going to lean over and whisper into your ear "It was me." Then you will know why, and everything is going to fit together. It's just too bad nobody is going to give a damn.'_ he thought as he finished altering the alcove.

He stepped back, massaging the stiffness in his neck, and gathered his tools. He then walked out of the cargo bay, whistling happily as if nothing had ever happened.

Captain Janeway looked up from her coffee as B'Elanna Torres entered her office. The warm smile on her face was quickly replaced by a scowl before she said, "I thought I ordered you to get back to work, Lieutenant?"

"That's actually why I'm here, Captain," B'Elanna replied, lowering her head. "I think that you should choose someone else to be Chief Engineer. The crew doesn't seem to trust me or my decisions and that's not good for the ship's efficiency."

On the inside Janeway was jumping for joy. _'Finally the bitch knows her place.'_ she thought. She didn't let any of her emotions show when she replied. "You have been far less than what I expected, Torres. I can't say that I'm surprised that you turned out to be such a failure. You would only get in the way down in engineering, so where can I put you?"

B'Elanna flinched at the words of her former friend. Knowing beforehand that something like this was going to happen was still not enough to prepare her for the captain's hateful words. "Actually, Captain, I made a list of other jobs that I can do." B'Elanna said in a subdued tone as she placed a data pad on the desk.

Janeway picked up the pad and began to quickly skim through it before replying, "Lieutenant, I don't think you're qualified for any of these jobs."

'_The plan is going good so far, I just hope that Seven knows what she is doing.'_ B'Elanna thought as Janeway continued with her tirade. "I can work pretty much anywhere, Captain, all I ask is that you keep me out of Astrometrics."

Janeway smirked, _'Of course, why didn't I think of it before? Sticking her with Seven would be the perfect punishment.' _

"Actually, Lieutenant, the only place I can think of where you won't get in the way is Astrometrics." Janeway said, tapping her comm. badge, "Seven to my ready room now."

The order was followed shortly by the clipped voice of Seven saying, "I will comply."

Seven entered the ready room soon after. '_I have to make this look believable.'_ she thought as she fixed a hard glare on B'Elanna, and then turned to the Captain. "You wished to see me, Captain?"

Janeway could not believe how well this was turning out. _'With the look Seven just gave Torres, they'll probably kill each other within a week or at least spend a lot of time in the brig.'_ Janeway thought with a smirk.

"Yes, Seven. I have noticed a shocking decline in the quality and quantity of your work recently. It's time for you to learn how to do things right. Lieutenant Torres will now be in charge and you will do whatever she says." Janeway said, glancing between the two of them.

"Captain, I know far more about alien cultures and our surrounding space than Lieutenant Torres, and I can complete my job without her." Seven said as she pointed an angry finger at B'Elanna.

"I hate to agree with the Borg, there is no way the two of us are going to be able to work together, even if Seven has to do whatever I tell her." B'Elanna said, unable to keep the tiny smirk off her face.

"This is not up for negotiation! You will do what I tell you and if I find that the two of you have been fighting in any way, I'll put you both in the brig until we get back to Earth."

From the look in Janeway's eyes they knew she was serious, and if she ever found out what they were planning they would both be dead or worse. But there was no turning back now.

"Yes, Captain." they both replied quietly as they left the ready room.

To be continued...


	3. Naiomi's Mom

Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal

Part Three

_'What am I going to do?' _Naomi thought as she watched her mother, Samantha Wildman pace around their quarters.

Samantha was a woman in her mid thirties. She had the same reddish blonde hair as her daughter and wore a science blue uniform.

Naomi didn't know why, but her mother just didn't seem like herself anymore. It was like she was a stranger, but she knew everything that her mother was supposed to know and treated everyone else like she normally did.

"Look at me when I am talking to you young lady!" her mother shouted, causing Naomi to wince at her tone.

"Please don't yell mom, I didn't do anything." Naomi cried.

"Didn't do anything?" Samantha shrieked. "You completely embarrassed me in front of the crew. All you had to do was stay in your room."

"But Mom, I stayed in my room all week. I just wanted to see Seven," Naomi said softly.

"I don't even know why I bother with you." Samantha gave her daughter a hard look. "It's not like you're really my daughter anyway. Your mother is dead. Ensign Kim brought you here before the other Voyager was destroyed. MY daughter died when the doctor couldn't fix her genetic defects! You're just a cheap copy!" Samantha Wildman referred to the time Voyager went through an anomaly that created two Voyagers that had to share the same warp core.

The other Voyager was destroyed except for Harry Kim and Naiomi Wildman. They had crossed over to the other ship before it was destroyed.

"M-mom y-you can't mean that." Tears streamed down Naomi's face.

"Get the hell out of my house! Go stay with that Borg trash you like so much for all I care." Samantha pointed at the door angrily.

Naomi couldn't stand it anymore. She gave one final look at the woman that was supposed to be her mother before she turned and ran out the door. She didn't know where to go so she kept running aimlessly. Members of the crew she passed just glared at her. Everywhere she turned she saw the hate radiating from their eyes.

Eventually she was so tired she had to stop. She simply couldn't run anymore.

Naomi curled herself up into a tiny ball against a wall and began to sob. She didn't know what to do, but she knew that she couldn't face any more hatred. She buried her face in her knees and continued to cry, until she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

She looked up into a pair of blue eyes that were also filled with tears. Naomi threw herself into the older woman's arms and began to sob anew.

"Please, please don't hate me too Seven! I'll be good, I promise."

Seven returned her embrace and rubbed her back soothingly before she spoke. "It is alright Naomi Wildman. I could never hurt you. You are the first friend I ever made on Voyager."

"Do you promise?" Naomi asked in a small voice.

"We have already promised to be best friends forever Naomi Wildman." Seven held her little friend. "Do you remember the first time that we played Kadis Kot?"

_"Come on Seven I want to show you a new game that I learned," Naomi grabbed onto the older woman's hand and began pulling at her. _

_"I do not have time for 'games' Naomi Wildman." Seven said in her usual clipped tone. _

_"Come on Seven," the girl smiled, "it'll be fun."_

_Seven sighed. "Very well Naomi Wildman. Fun will commence for the next 30 minutes." _

_Seven finished entering her calculations into the computer while Naomi just rolled her eyes and tried to pull Seven to the game board. _

_Naomi had won six out of eight games before Seven realized that they had been playing for over two hours. _

_"I enjoyed this activity immensely, Naomi Wildman." Seven smiled. _

_"I had fun too, Seven." Naomi smiled back, "It's what best friends do." _

_"Best friends?" Seven asked. _

_"Yes, let's promise to be best friends forever, okay Seven?" _

_Seven simply nodded as Naomi picked up her hand and said, "Come on, pinkie swear." They linked their little fingers together and shook hands._

"I remember." Naomi said, smiling up at Seven.

_Earlier..._

"I had almost forgotten about Naomi Wildman," Seven said as she exited the ready room with B'Elanna.

"What do you mean? What does Naomi have to do with any of this?" B'Elanna asked.

"She has also expressed a noticeable change in the way the crew has been treating her." Seven sighed, "especially her mother."

"What?" B'Elanna exclaimed, "Even her mother is treating her like this? Whatever's going on, we'd better work it out soon."

"Have you ever noticed that Samantha Wildman never speaks of her Katarian husband?" Seven asked. "It is as if she is ashamed of him."

"Now that you mention it, I have noticed. Even after Naomi was born, Samantha never talked about her husband." B'Elanna agreed.

"The most important thing now is to find Naomi. I have noticed the crew's animosity towards us increasing every day. I am afraid that soon Samantha Wildman will do something to her." Seven said.

"You care a lot about her, don't you Seven?" B'Elanna said softly.

"She is my only friend. I would die to keep her safe," Seven answered.

B'Elanna followed Seven off the bridge while she thought about Seven's words, _"She is my only friend."_ She'd never really thought about it until now but Seven didn't have a lot of friends.

Sure, there were people that admired the way she looked, but in Seven's mind there was only one person that saw her as a person instead of an object, and that was Naomi. All the other people who claimed to be her friend in the past seemed to have ulterior motives.

The doctor saw her as a science project, scanning her on almost a weekly basis, trying to teach her about being human, when he himself was no closer to it than she. Some of the things that he had done in his quest for humanity, most people would never even consider. There was the time he'd tried to integrate the qualities of historical figures into his matrix, and succeeded only in assimilating all the darker elements of their combined personalities. He'd nearly ended up going on a killing spree as a result.

The captain was no better. She'd tried to turn Seven into a copy of herself, rewarding her when she did things her way and punishing her when she did things differently. When the Hirogen, a war like species that lived and died because of a constant need to kill were hunting a member of species 8472 that had hidden aboard Voyager, Janeway had held the unshakeable belief that she was doing right. Seven was the one with the most knowledge about species 8472, but Janeway completely dismissed her advice. She had no way of knowing if the alien stowaway was lying, and didn't even stop to consider how much danger she was putting the rest of the crew in. In the end, Seven had had to transport the intruder to the Hirogen vessel to stop Voyager from being destroyed, but she was disciplined for her actions because she hadn't acted the way Janeway'd wanted her to.

As B'Elanna continued into the turbo lift with Seven, she couldn't help but think about her own interactions with Seven. The first time she had talked to Seven she had deliberately tried to hurt her verbally, expecting to find a monster. Instead there was this woman that she had gotten to know over the past few days.

_'I actually thought she had a choice over what she did, that she was willingly assimilating other species,'_ B'Elanna thought.

In reality, not only had the Borg enslaved Seven's body, they'd also enslaved her mind. They'd used her intelligence to think of ways to assimilate other species, and altered her body with their technology to the point that Seven needed it to live.

_'Seven deserves better than that, a lot better. I am going to find a way to make us friends.'_ B'Elanna promised herself.

"Computer, locate Naomi Wildman," Seven said.

"Naomi Wildman is in hydroponics," answered the feminine voice of the computer.

Hydroponics was an area set aside for Voyager to grow their own fruits and vegetables as well get some much needed fresh air. It was one of the few places aboard Voyager that truly represented Earth.

Seven turned to B'Elanna. "Lieutenant, will you please accompany me? I believe we will both be needed to explain what is happening to Naomi Wildman."

"Sure Seven," B'Elanna said before adding, "And Naomi doesn't have to be your only friend, because I'd really like to be considered one too."

Seven's face transformed with a smile. "I would like that very much Lieuten- B'Elanna," She pulled the engineer into a hug.

B'Elanna was shocked into immobility at first, but when Seven lay her head on B'Elanna's shoulder, she found herself once again able to move. She wrapped her arms around the taller woman and held her.

After a few moments she whispered into Seven's ear, "We should probably go get Naomi now."

"You are correct B'Elanna," Seven replied before pulling away, but she couldn't stop the feeling of loss when the half Klingon's arms discontinued their embrace.

B'Elanna felt it too, so she reached out and took hold of Seven's hand before they both headed off to Hydroponics.

When they found Naomi, the sight of her, curled up in a ball, rocking herself as she cried, nearly broke the hearts of both women. Seven let go of B'Elanna's hand and walked up to the child, putting her hand on her shoulder.

B'Elanna waited at a distance, unable to hear what the two were saying. When it appeared that things had been worked out, she approached them.

Naomi watched B'Elanna walk closer, arms tightening around Seven.

B'Elanna and Seven both noticed this, but B'Elanna was the first to speak, "It's going to be okay Naomi, I don't want to hurt you. The three of us will fix this together."

"I don't have anywhere to live." Naomi sobbed, "Mom said that I wasn't really her daughter, that she wanted me to leave."

Even though both B'Elanna and Seven had speculated this might happen, it still shocked them. Naomi's mother had actually abandoned her.

"It's going to be okay Naomi. You can stay in my quarters. Both of you can." B'Elanna said trying to cheer up the child.

"I do not think that will be possible, B'Elanna. I am still dependent on my alcove to regenerate," Seven said.

"It's isn't safe for you there anymore Seven. Anyone could walk in at anytime and you wouldn't be able to do anything to stop them," B'Elanna said as she and Naomi shared worried glances.

"I require 14 hours of regeneration a week. Perhaps I could regenerate two hours a day before or after our shifts ends," Seven said helpfully.

"Yeah, that would work. With me and B'Elanna watching, nobody would be able to do anything." Naomi said happily.

"Perhaps we should all return to Astrometrics. Giving the captain reasons to punish us will not improve our situation."

B'Elanna and Naomi nodded their heads in agreement. Seven stood up and B'Elanna unconsciously reached for her right hand while Naomi reached for her left.

Thankfully, no one was in Astrometrics when the three outcasts arrived. B'Elanna brought up the work list from the main computer. It was huge. Almost too much for the two of them combined. "Janeway sure gave us a lot to do." B'Elanna muttered as she started the first set of scans.

"I believe there is a reason for that, B'Elanna. The captain wants us out of the way. It is most likely the same reason that she wanted you out of engineering. The rest of the crew is planning something and our lack of involvement must be pivotal for their plan to succeed," Seven finished.

B'Elanna agreed, "I think you're right, Seven. Everything that the crew has been doing has built up to this. I just can't figure out what it's all about."

"Maybe they need all of this work to be done now because of what they are planning," Naomi spoke.

"I believe you are correct Naomi Wildman. B'Elanna and I are the only ones able to compile the data Voyager requires in such a short period of time. Whatever they are planning, they expect us to be unable to work for a long period of time."

"This doesn't give us any new information though. If we don't figure out what they plan on doing with us soon, we may not be able to stop them when the time comes," B'Elanna was growing more worried.

"Perhaps it is time to speak with Commander Tuvok. He is our only chance of determining what is occurring," Seven said.

"Are you sure that's a good idea Seven? If he's working with the rest of the crew, we're sunk," B'Elanna questioned.

"We do not have any other choice. If we do not speak with him soon, whatever the crew is planning on doing with us WILL happen."

The three began working on finishing the scans as quickly as possible, so that they could speak to Commander Tuvok.

The captain rubbed her neck lightly as she read over the message from the Socadan. Everything was going according to plan. The three hybrids had no idea what was going on and soon it would be too late.

Kim entered the ready room, interrupting her thoughts.

"I'm finished with Seven's alcove, the next time she regenerates she won't be waking up."

"Perfect," Janeway stood up from her desk and walked over to Kim. "I knew the Borg would come in handy eventually but I never knew the payoff would be quite this big."

Kim wrapped his arms around Janeway, pulling her closer, "They don't even suspect a thing." Harry said as he leaned down and roughly kissed Janeway.

Janeway reached up and grabbed Kim's head and brought it down harder against her lips, before they both pulled back.

"Everything that we have ever wanted is going to happen very, very soon." Janeway said in a sultry voice.

After finally finishing all of the tasks assigned them, Seven, B'Elanna, and Naomi headed to Tuvok's quarters.

Tuvok answered the door on the first chime. He looked at the three of them before saying, "Inside, quickly."

"By the tone of your voice I assume you know what is happening Commander," Seven said as they made their way to his living room.

"From what I have learned from the crew, Captain Janeway plans to hand you over to the Socadan," Tuvok answered.

"Why? What do the Socadan want with us?" B'Elanna asked.

"The Socadan have never seen hybrids before. I assume they plan on studying you," Tuvok said.

"But they have seen Hybrids before. When some of them were assimilated by the Borg, they became hybrids," B'Elanna said confused.

"Those Socadan have long since passed away. Besides, it is their pursuit of knowledge that is driving them. They only have archaic records of technological hybrids of their own species. That is nothing compared to the advancements the Borg have made over the years."

"What I still do not understand is what the rest of the crew will receive in exchange for us," Seven said.

"Tuvok, why are you letting them do this to us?" Naomi asked in a pleading voice.

"I will not allow the crew to harm any of you, and you will not be taken by the Socadan. I believe that the crew is being influenced by an outside source. When we discover what that source is, we will be in a better position to stop them," Tuvok said calmly.

"The Socadan must be the ones doing it. They want to experiment on us. The fact that they're here at this point in time can't just be a coincidence," B'Elanna stated.

"You are incorrect B'Elanna. The crew began treating us differently before anyone knew that the Socadan even existed," Seven said.

"This is strange," B'Elanna said, furrowing her brow, "The more we find out about this, the more confusing it gets."

"I am the only one that knew the Socadan existed, due to my Borg knowledge. The only logical conclusion is that someone has been able to access my Borg systems," Seven stated.

"How could that happen, Seven? And even if they were able to access your knowledge, how would they know what to do with it?" Naomi asked.

"The only way I would not know of such an occurrence would be during regeneration. Even so, there are only a small number of people with the technological expertise to complete the procedure successfully. It would also stand to reason that the person controlling the crew has either been planning this for a long time or had enough free time to correlate the data." Seven said, beginning to see the solution.

"If we figure out who may have done it, we can probably figure out what's going on," B'Elanna said excitedly and grabbed Seven's hand.

"You will keep us informed?" Seven questioned Tuvok.

"Yes. Now that we know where to begin searching, it will only be a matter of time before we discover what is going on." Tuvok said.

"We better get going, Seven," B'Elanna said, pulling on Seven's hand. "You still have to regenerate before tomorrow's duty shift."

Tuvok accompanied them to the door and watched them make their way to cargo bay 2.

As soon as Tuvok was sure that the three hybrids were out of hearing range he tapped his comm. badge.

"Tuvok to Janeway."

"Go ahead Tuvok."

"You were correct. They were able to discover that we have been planning something."

"Do they know anything important?"

"They only know what you have asked me to tell them. Why was it necessary to give them this information Captain?"

"For two reasons Tuvok. The first is that should they try to escape, I need someone to know what they are planning. The second is I want them to know what is going to happen to them. I want to them to know that there is nothing they can do to stop it."

To Be Continued...


	4. Problems & Renewed Hope

Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal

Part Four

Seven, B'Elanna and Naomi entered cargo bay 2 and, after a quick search, found the room to be empty.

"Seven, you start regenerating while Naomi and I keep watch." B'Elanna said as she and Naomi sat on the deck plating beside Seven's alcove.

"I will comply." Seven stepped into her alcove and began her regeneration cycle.

_Two hours later..._

"Regeneration cycle complete." at the sound of the voice of the computer B'Elanna and Naomi looked up from their game of Kadis Kot.

As Seven stepped of the alcove she grew dizzy and felt herself begin to fall.

B'Elanna stood up quickly and caught Seven, hugging her from behind as she lowered Seven to the ground.

"What happened Seven? Are you okay?"

"I am not functioning within acceptable parameters." Seven whispered as she tried to focus her eyes on B'Elanna.

Naomi was beside Seven only moments behind B'Elanna, "Are you going to be okay Seven?"

"I am not sure, something happened to me while I was regenerating. I will begin a scan of my Borg systems."

"How could this have happened? We were here the entire time, and nobody else came in," Naomi said as she held onto Seven's hand.

"It'll be okay Seven. We're going to find out what's going on." B'Elanna pulled Seven into a hug as she spoke.

A small smile crept onto Seven's face as she rested her head on B'Elanna shoulder. For the first time since coming aboard Voyager she felt safe.

"The scan is complete. My Borg implants are functioning at 15 of normal. My nanoprobes have also been altered. They are synthesizing muscle relaxants and injecting them directly into my blood stream."

"Is there any way we can fix this?" Naomi asked.

"I'm not sure," B'Elanna answered thoughtfully. "The only way they could have done this was by re-programming the alcove."

"The panel on the left side near the bottom is the only part of the alcove that can be used to alter the alcove systems."

"I'll just be a minute, Seven." B'Elanna reluctantly removed her arms from around Seven

B'Elanna looked at Naomi as she crawled up next to Seven and hugged her. She had to smile at that before she began to work on the alcove. _'Whoever did this really knew what they were doing.'_ B'Elanna mused as she began to pull out the different circuits. A few minutes deconstruction uncovered an anomalous chip. It looked like all the other circuits except for the black chip in the center.

B'Elanna pulled out her tri-corder and began to scan the chip. At first it looked like the circuit could be easily removed, but a deeper scan revealed that the circuit was tied in to all of the other systems of the alcove and removing it would shut everything down.

The alcove could still be fixed, but it would take at least a week. B'Elanna sighed. _'This isn't good. We'll arrive on the Star Base in three days,'_ B'Elanna thought as she looked at Naomi and Seven talking softly to each other.

"We're not going to be able to fix the alcove in time Seven. Whoever did this really knew their stuff."

"I will still be able to regenerate, the changes to my alcove were only meant to weaken me. I suggest we continue with our plans," Seven sounded more confident than she felt.

"Okay Seven, but you have to promise to tell us if anything else happens." Naomi said.

"I promise." Seven said as she held Naomi's hand.

"Alright, we should get to my quarters." B'Elanna said as Seven began to stand up.

"Seven, you're in no condition to be walking around," B'Elanna scolded.

"I fell because I was not prepared for the changes to my Borg systems B'Elanna." Seven insisted as she tried to stand on wobbly legs.

"Oh no you don't," B'Elanna quickly lifted Seven into her arms. "And don't bother arguing because I am NOT putting you back down."

Seven was about to complain but desisted at the determined look in B'Elanna's eyes. She realized resistance would be futile. Seven rested her head against B'Elanna's chest and said: "Yes, B'Elanna."

B'Elanna couldn't help but smirk at Seven. "If this is all it takes to win an argument with you, I don't think I'm ever going to put you down."

Seven didn't say anything as she closed her eyes. When B'Elanna looked over at Naomi she was smiling as well.

"You make Seven happy B'Elanna. It really means a lot to her that you're friends now."

"It means a lot to me too kid, I don't know how I couldn't see it before but now I can't imagine my life without Seven in it."

Thankfully most of the crew was still working gamma shift or getting drunk at Sardines, to which B'Elanna was grateful. She wasn't sure how she could explain carrying Seven around the ship without giving away the fact that something was wrong.

B'Elanna, Seven and Naomi were sitting on the couch inside of B'Elanna's quarters. The three outcasts needed a plan that would ensure their safety as well as stop the crew from delivering them to the Socadan. There were only three days left they had been completely separated from all of Voyager's key systems that could tell them what was going on.

"At this point the only one that can help us is Tuvok, but he has not been able to give us any relevant information," Seven said.

"Maybe we can take the Delta Flyer and try to outrun Voyager," B'Elanna suggested.

"We would need a diversion. Voyager is far more powerful than the Delta Flyer. To escape we would have to disable their engines as well as their weapons system," Seven concluded.

"Are- are we ever going to see any of them again?" Naomi asked.

Seven held Naomi's hand as she answered. "Naomi, the crew has made up their minds about us. If they give us to the Socadan we would never see them again anyway. As hard as it will be to leave, we must. The Socadan will not treat us well, they may even separate us once we reach the space station."

"I know, but even after everything that my mom did I still care about her, I'm going to miss her."

"Maybe when we figure out what happened to the crew we can find them again," B'Elanna offered.

"I hope so." Naomi said with a sigh.

"To find out what is wrong with the crew we must gain access to their medical records. We must also find a way to transport supplies onto the shuttle, as well as find a suitable planet to land on to give us time to plot a course back to the Alpha quadrant." Seven said.

"Given enough time we might be able to get a slip-stream drive working, we could beat Voyager back home," B'Elanna said smiling.

"There is another problem, I must still regenerate. We will have to build a portable regeneration unit."

B'Elanna was now starting to get worried. "We don't have enough time to design or build a portable regeneration unit. I don't even know where to start. We're going to have to go to the space station and take our chances there," B'Elanna concluded sadly.

Seven was shocked for a moment. B'Elanna was actually willing to be a prisoner of the Socadan. When she looked over at Naomi she realized that Naomi was willing to do the same. "You would both sacrifice your freedom to be with me?"

"Of course Seven, we won't leave without you" Naomi and B'Elanna said at once.

"Thank you," Seven said with tears in her eyes. "But it will not come to that, I have already designed the regeneration unit. I was hoping to have my own quarters but the captain never granted my request."

"How long will it take to build?" B'Elanna asked growing excited again.

"We can replicate most of the materials, so it should only take 3.6 hours to complete."

_Two hours earlier..._

"Perfect. Seven just started regenerating. By tomorrow morning we can put her in sick bay until we get to the Socadan space station," Kim smiled at Janeway.

"Just make sure this works." Janeway grunted from on top of Kim.

"Think about it, in only two years we can be back in the alpha quadrant."

"As much as I like the idea of getting back to the Alpha quadrant, right now I would like it a lot more if you could concentrate on what you're doing." Janeway said as she roughly pushed Kim down and began moving faster.

Kim could only groan from under Janeway as his eyes began to roll back.

Shortly after Kim and Janeway had finished and gotten dressed again Janeway became curious as to what the remaining two hybrids were doing.

"Computer, locate Seven of Nine and Lieutenant Torres." Janeway ordered as she sat down beside Kim.

"Seven of Nine and Lieutenant Torres are on deck six, section five."

"I thought you said that Seven wasn't going to be a problem," Janeway gave Kim an icy glare.

"She's not, I programmed that alcove perfectly. It'll take them at least two weeks before they even figure out what I did. Something else must have happened. Computer, how long was Seven regenerating for?"

"Seven of Nine regenerated for 2 hours."

"She was supposed to regenerate for a normal cycle. This changes things."

"What the hell does that mean? I don't think I need to remind you that the Socadan will not be able to perform their tests on damaged goods."

"If it was for only two hours, Seven should have 5, maybe 10, of her Borg strength. With the muscle relaxants, she won't be able to do anything to stop us. So basically our plans remain unchanged."

"According to Tuvok, they've already figured out what's going on. I thought we would have at least a couple more days before they became suspicious."

"We could just put them in the brig now and save ourselves the trouble."

"No, we have no idea what condition they'll be in when they come back, and Seven is the only one that can do the sensor scans fast enough."

To be continued...


	5. Betrayals of the Worst Kind

Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal

Part Five

At 0800 hours B'Elanna, Naomi Wildman and Seven of Nine emerged from B'Elanna's quarters. Seven was still feeling tired and was leaning on B'Elanna as they made their way to sick bay.

"The doctor should be off line until 0900 hours, if he catches us just ask him why we haven't been given the inoculations that the rest of the crew has received." B'Elanna said as the three of them entered sick bay.

The lights were off as the three women entered sick bay. It was usually a brightly lit room with two bio-beds in the center and the doctor's office in the far left corner.

It seemed too quiet, even if the doctor was off line at least some of the lights should have still been on. B'Elanna was about to call for the lights when a voice from the corner beat them to it. As the lights blinked on Naomi let out a gasp. The captain, along with Chakotay, six armed security officers and, most surprisingly, Tuvok was standing there waiting.

"Did you really think we would let the three of you escape?" Janeway sneered at them.

Seven ignored the captain and looked directly at Tuvok before saying "You gave us your word that you would help us. Why have you betrayed us?"

Tuvok stared at the three hybrids for a moment before replying. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

"You asshole. Why did you even bother pretending that you care if you were going to turn us in?" B'Elanna shouted.

Each security officer had two phasers pointed at the hybrids as they were herded into a corner and a force field snapped into place.

"We knew that there was a chance you might figure out what we were planning," Janeway said, smiling smugly at them. "Tuvok here pretended to give a damn about what you thought so, if you figured it out, you would confide in him."

"What do you plan to do with us captain?" Seven asked. "It must be of considerable value for you to discard your chief engineer as well as abandon a child."

"I'm reminded of an old Earth saying; one person's trash, is another person's treasure," Janeway laughed. "Someone out there actually thinks the three of you are worth something, worth enough to cut down our trip to the alpha quadrant to two years. Think about it, a captain and her crew being pulled into the delta quadrant and being forced to find their own way back home. And not only did they beat the odds, but they discovered advanced technology that will change the way everyone thinks of space travel. I wouldn't be surprised if I become an admiral because of this."

"Your plan's never going to work Janeway," B'Elanna sneered. "How the hell are you going to explain what happened to the three of us?" B'Elanna said, pulling Seven and Naomi closer.

"You little shit. Do you actually think I haven't planned for that?" Janeway smirked. "Out here I AM STARFLEET. In fact I've already created the cover story for what happened to you three. In one month we will be attacked by the Borg, when our shields fail they will beam directly to engineering where Seven and Torres were fine tuning the impulse drive. The Borg queen will demand that Seven of Nine be returned to the collective, I will of course refuse and during the ensuing battle the Borg will manage to beam into engineering, where you two will be working on getting the warp drive back on line," Janeway pointed at B'Elanna and Seven. "You will both be severely injured during that battle, as well as being partially assimilated. The memories you claim to have will be nothing more than the memories of someone else that was assimilated, and will be easily dismissible."

"What makes you think we'll go along with that?" B'Elanna spat.

"You won't have a choice, the Socadan are also giving us the technology to alter a small part of your memories. When we're finished, the three of you will believe anything we tell you."

"If you have the ability to alter our memories why would you need to create this fabrication for Starfleet?" Seven asked.

"We are not sure what the Socadan are going to do to you. If the damage is irreversible we will need scapegoats," Janeway informed them.

"What are they going to do to us?" Naomi asked in a quiet voice.

"You know, I actually never thought to ask, but I imagine that the three of you are going to find out very soon. That actually reminds me, how are you still conscious Seven? The virus we put into your alcove should have rendered you unconscious until we reached the Socadan."

"_For once everything hasn't worked out the way the bitch wants,"_ B'Elanna thought as she looked at Janeway. "We figured out your little plan a little sooner than you calculated bitch. Seven only regenerated for a couple of hours, it wasn't enough to knock her out."

"Still," Janeway said as she ran her eyes up and down Seven's body, "two hours must have weakened you considerably. Are all of your implants still working properly?" As Janeway met Seven's eyes she knew. "They're not! You're as weak as a kitten. I could probably do anything I want with you and you couldn't do a damn thing about it." Janeway smiled as her eyes lingered on Seven's breasts."

B'Elanna eye's widened as soon as she saw the smile on Janeway's face. "YOU P'TAQ, there is no way I'm letting you anywhere near Seven," B'Elanna began banging on the force field.

As B'Elanna moved forward and started screaming at the captain, Seven lost her grip on the engineer and fell to the floor. "What is happening B'Elanna?" Seven asked as she too began to panic.

B'Elanna never got to answer her because as soon as she turned around the force field dropped and she was stunned by Tuvok's phaser.

"Take the two half breeds down to the brig, they can wait for the Socadan there," Janeway said as she started walking towards Seven.

In a shimmer of blue light, four of the security officers, along with Naomi and B'Elanna, disappeared.

Janeway knelt down next to Seven and grabbed the frightened woman's chin firmly in her hand, forcing her to look up. "I've go my own plans for you."

Seven's eyes widened in fear as she finally realized what Janeway intended to do. "You can not do this. You have taken an oath as a Starfleet captain. You are not allowed to harm other species."

"You're right about that Seven, I can't hurt other people, but then again you're not people are you? No, you're just a highly advanced sex toy. A toy that I will enjoy using very much," Janeway whispered as she firmly grabbed onto the back of Seven's head with one hand and Seven's breast with the other then forced her lips on to Seven's.

Seven tried to push Janeway off her, but in her weakened state she was no match for the older woman. Tears began to stream down her face as she Janeway pried her lips apart and she felt the older woman's tongue enter her mouth. Seven's tears began to fall faster and her body began to shake with her sobbing as she realized that the woman that had saved her from the Borg was going to rape her. The same woman that claimed the Borg were the most evil creatures in the universe, but the Borg had never even attempted what Janeway was going to do. Janeway did not want her mind, she wanted her body.

"Captain, we are being hailed by the Socadan, regarding the chattel," Chakotay said as he too began to leer at Seven.

Janeway let out an annoyed groan before she replied, "Fine, take this to my quarters," Janeway grabbed Seven around the neck and pulled her towards Tuvok. "Make sure the computer doesn't respond to any of her commands while I speak with our benefactors."

"Yes, Captain," Tuvok also grabbed onto Seven's neck, and began dragging her towards the captain's quarters followed by the two remaining security officers, as Janeway and Chakotay walked towards the bridge.

On the bridge Janeway looked around to see the smirking faces of the rest of the crew. "What do the Socadan want?" Janeway asked as she looked at Kim.

"I don't know Captain, they said they would only speak to us when you were present," Kim responded.

Janeway let out a sigh before replying, "Very well, put them on screen."

The view screen immediately replaced the stars with an image of the Socadan Carkonas, the one that had first approached them with the proposal. His skin was a dark green with large uneven black spots covering most of his face. The marking were not unlike those of a cheetah or a Dalmatian. His eyes were a bright yellow with cat like slits for pupils. His most defined feature was the deep cranial ridges on his forehead, but unlike the outward growing ones of a Klingon, his ridges moved in and out as he breathed.

The layout of the bridge also looked very different from anything Janeway had seen before. It was filled mostly with shades of blue. Instead of simply standing at your console like the bridge of Voyager everyone was given a comfortable chair. Each of the panels that Carkonas's crew were using were transparent holograms so there was no chance of a station exploding and damaging the crew.

"Is the merchandise ready to be transported?" Carkonas spoke.

"It is. I think you will find that the merchandise is in excellent condition," Janeway said. "I have the child and the Klingon hybrid in the brig, but I believe that I will sample the Borg before the exchange."

"I am afraid that is quiet impossible Captain, we asked for the Borg specifically because of its emotional state. It will be useless to us if it is emotionally damaged, and without it we have no deal." Carkonas said firmly.

"What possible difference could that make to you?" Janeway barked as she realized that her prize was beginning to slip through her fingers.

"What we do with the merchandise is none of your concern Captain of Voyager. You will get your technology as we agreed but only if my terms are met." Carkonas said evenly.

"Very well," Janeway said as she fought to keep her anger under control. "We will rendezvous with you in 24 hours, just have our technology ready."

Carkonas nodded, the view screen changing back to the star covered background as he disconnected the communication.

"I may not be able to do what I wanted with Seven, but I think that I can still make the most of the situation. Chakotay you have the bridge." Janeway said as she hurried to her quarters.

The brig was not a nice place to be aboard Voyager. For both B'Elanna and Naomi this was the first time that they had seen it.

The room had three cells to it and B'Elanna and Naiomi were in the center. A level 6 force field separated them from the rest of the crew, and on the inside rested two three beds, a toilet and a water fountain.

B'Elanna was going out her mind with worry. The only thing that was keeping her from completely losing it was the presence of Naomi, sitting on floor. As B'Elanna looked around she finally realized how bad the situation was. The two guards that were keeping watch over them had informed her that they would be reaching the space station in less than a day. The plans that B'Elanna had made with Seven and Naomi were completely destroyed by Janeway. She could think of no way that the three of them could escape with two of them in the brig and the captain doing god knows what with Seven.

A tear formed in B'Elanna's eye as she thought about what was happening to Seven. Granted that B'Elanna didn't know as much as she should have about Seven, she knew that this was going to hurt her very deeply.

"Why are you doing this to us? What could we have possibly done to deserve this?" B'Elanna shouted.

"Quiet," said the guard as he aimed his phaser at Naomi, "or, we're going to see how many times I can stun a kid before it dies."

B'Elanna immediately closed her mouth and walked over to Naomi. She picked up the shocked and frightened child and moved to the far corner of the cell, as the guard smiled maliciously at her before lowering his weapon.

"_Please come back to us in one piece,"_ B'Elanna thought as her mind turned to Seven again.

"What does the captain want with Seven?" Naomi asked after the shock had worn off a little.

B'Elanna thought about what to say to the child, this was something she would have trouble talking about to an adult, let alone a child that thought of Seven as her hero. In the end she just decided to be honest with the kid, after all she would need her help when they brought Seven back. "Have you ever noticed how pretty Seven is?"

"Yes, people are always starring at her but Seven just ignores it, she said that were not suitable mates." Naomi responded.

"There are some people that don't care if they're suitable mates or not," B'Elanna said in a soft voice.

"Are you talking about unwanted sexual advances?" Naomi asked in an alarmed voice.

"Yeah, how do you know about that?" B'Elanna was shocked.

"Seven talked to me about it a few months ago, it was part of her research on humanity. She said that the victim is emotionally and most times physically damaged, and that it takes a long time for them to feel right again." Naomi said quietly.

"Seven's right Naomi, so we have to do everything we can to help her when we see her again," B'Elanna said as she hugged the little Katarian.

Tuvok was still holding Seven's neck, half dragging, half pulling Seven towards the captain's quarters. Every time Seven spoke or tried to stand upright, Tuvok would give her neck a hard squeeze, almost to the point of cutting off her oxygen supply.

"We have arrived," Tuvok spoke as they entered the captain's quarters and released his hold on Seven's neck, pushing her into the center of the room. "Computer, remove all command codes for Seven of Nine, and no longer acknowledge any commands given by her, authorization code Alpha 5674 Tuvok."

"Why are you doing this Tuvok? You are condemning us. As a security officer it goes against everything you stand for." Seven asked.

"As I said earlier, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Tuvok stated.

"That is not what Spock intended when he made that statement," Seven pleaded. "These are not even needs, they are wants. Please do not allow the captain to do this."

"It will not matter what happens to you. After you return to Voyager we will alter your memories. You will not remember any of this." Tuvok stated as he turned and left the captain's quarters.

As soon as she was alone, Seven walked up to the door and tried to get it open, but the door would not budge.

Seven stood for a moment and took in her surroundings. This was the first time that she was in the captain's quarters. It was considerably larger than B'Elanna's. Two sofas were placed in the center of the living space with a coffee table separating them and a few pictures hanging on the wall. In the left corner there was a small kitchenette. To the right was what Seven assumed to be the wash room, and beside it was a room that honestly scared Seven. It was Janeway's bedroom.

"Computer, open the doors," Seven said desperately but, just as Tuvok had said, the computer would not even respond to her. Seven sank to the floor beside the door and curled herself into a ball.

To be continued...


	6. Enter the Socadan

Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal

Part Six

Janeway was almost beaming as she stood outside the door to her quarters. "I may not be able to fuck her, but they never said anything about her fucking me," Janeway thought to herself.

As the doors opened and Janeway stepped inside she began to look for Seven, _"Nothing out of place, nothing broken,"_ Janeway thought with a frown. _"I thought for sure that she would have tried to escape."_

It was too quiet, almost as if Seven was planning something. Janeway raised her hand to her comm. badge, before noticing something on the sofa. Moving closer, she recognized that it was Seven. She had a thick blanket wrapped around her, the same blanket that used to cover the sofa. Realizing that she was asleep Janeway quietly walked towards Seven and knelt down next to her.

"So beautiful," Janeway thought wistfully as she undid the pins to Seven's hair and watched as it cascaded down her face. She shook her head before smirking, "In another time, another place, I probably could have loved you."

Seven began to wake up as she felt a hand running through her hair, and gasped as she realized who it was. She tried to stand up, but felt a hand firmly pushing her down. "Please do not do this Captain," Seven pleaded as she looked up into the older woman's eyes, hoping to find something of the woman that had saved her from the Borg.

"I made you Seven, everything you are, I created," Janeway said as she ran her fingers down Seven's face. "Do you know the reason you exist Seven?" Janeway asked softly.

When Seven didn't respond Janeway continued, "You exist to serve me, at any time and in any way that I see fit," Janeway finished in a throaty whisper.

Seven was lost for a moment, all the memories of Janeway helping her flashing through her mind. She'd removed her implants, put her in the cargo bay, created her uniform, was it all to help her regain her humanity or was it to further Janeway's own needs? Seven stared into Janeway's face; whether the older woman knew it or not her eyes could never hide how she truly felt.

What Seven saw when she looked into the eyes of her mentor scared her; worse than when the queen wanted her back, worse than when she thought she was going to die. What she saw was something she couldn't recognize anymore.

It still felt like the captain, but overshadowed with lust, jealousy, and anger.

"I promised that after I escaped the Borg, I would never be a slave again, not to the queen and not to you," Seven spoke her voice showing much more strength than she was feeling. "I am not strong enough to stop you from taking this body, but I will fight you. I refuse to go quietly."

"You can say all the pretty little speeches you want 'pet', but you still belong to me," Janeway said as she forced her mouth onto Seven's.

Seven fought back this time, knowing she would fail still she fought. She squirmed around and tried to pry the older woman's hands off her. Janeway just smirked as she forced Seven's hands behind her head and lay down on top of her before breaking the kiss.

As Seven struggled to regain her breath, Janeway spoke again, "Why don't you just give up Seven, it'll be easier for the both of us. You might even like it. I'll tell you what, you give me what I want, and tonight I won't take what I own," Janeway said as she used one hand to hold Seven's arms and planted the other firmly between the younger woman's legs.

After Janeway's last comment, Seven's eyes widened in understanding, everything Janeway had done as soon as she entered her quarters was a carefully calculated plan. She had threatened and bargained to get what she wanted, but never actually taken it. For some reason Janeway was not allowed to simply take what she wanted. Janeway could not take her virginity, all she seemed to be able to do was receive pleasure, not give it.

"Your game is over Captain," Seven said as she felt her confidence growing, "if you could have taken what you wanted you would have by now. The Socadan want me to be emotionally stable, and without that your deal is no longer valid," Seven almost shouted in happiness.

Janeway's face suddenly became red with rage. Her plan had been uncovered, she had no more chips to play, and she had lost. She raised her hand ready to strike Seven but was stopped again by the voice of the younger woman, "The Socadan will not appreciate physically damaged merchandise either, Captain."

"Do you actually think you won?" Janeway asked angrily. "When the Socadan are done with you, you're mine again. I can change your memories to anything I want. I can make you do anything I want whenever I want."

Instead of striking her Janeway slapped her comm. badge and shouted, "Computer, beam Seven of Nine directly to the brig!"

As Seven felt the tingle of the transporter along her body she saw Janeway scream again in rage before throwing a potted plant against the wall.

It had been four hours since the captain had taken Seven to her quarters, and B'Elanna was beside herself with worry. Numerous scenarios were running through her mind as she sat in the far corner of her cell, watching Naomi as she slept.

She would have probably been pacing her cell if the guard wasn't staring at her, with his finger constantly on the trigger of his phaser.

"_Please be alright Seven, I can't lose you now, I've only just gotten to know you,"_ B'Elanna thought.

As if B'Elanna's prayers had been answered, a shimmer of blue sparkles filled the cell. When they cleared, Seven lay in the centre of it wrapped tightly in an old blanket.

B'Elanna rushed over to her immediately, completely ignoring the guard sitting outside. She quickly picked up the younger woman and carried her over to the bed beside Naomi and pulled Seven even closer to her in a tight hug.

"B'Elanna, B'Elanna, I am alright. The Captain did not do anything to me," Seven said, smiling at the woman holding her.

B'Elanna almost collapsed in complete and total relief, "You mean that she didn't..."

"No, she is not allowed. Whatever deal the Captain has made with the Socadan forbids her from having unwanted sexual relations with me, I must remain a virgin or their agreement is void," Seven said smiling.

Naomi woke up just as Seven finished speaking. As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes she noticed the two people sitting on the bed across from hers. _"B'Elanna and Seven are smiling! Seven must be okay,"_ the child reasoned.

Naomi quickly got off her bed and climbed onto the other one to also wrap her arms around Seven. "Are you okay, did the Captain hurt you?" Naomi asked as she looked into the eyes of her hero, a hero she had only just realized that she would happily do anything for.

"I am fine Naomi Wildman, the Captain is not allowed to hurt me, the Socadan will call off their deal if she does," Seven spoke happily.

"How much longer until Voyager meets up with the Socadan, Seven?" Naomi asked.

"It should be in approximately 2 hours and 25 minutes. The Captain was angered when I discovered the stipulation to her bargain. Voyager is currently moving at a speed of warp 9.34, I believe she wishes to conclude her business quickly," Seven answered.

"She's clever, I'll give her that much," B'Elanna said grudgingly. "She doesn't want to give us time to figure out a way out of this. With only two and a half hours left, and being held in the brig, means there isn't much we can do to stop her."

"Perhaps we should accept the fact that we can not escape Voyager," Seven stated. "We should plan on how to deal with the Socadan. I first believed that they wished to seek retribution for what the Borg have done to them by punishing me, but they seem concerned with our health, it does not make any sense."

"You're right Seven, what does our emotional state have to do with anything," Naomi said as she scrunched up her brows.

"I am happy that you are here with us B'Elanna, we would not be able to get through this without you," Seven said as she softly kissed B'Elanna on the cheek.

"We should probably get back on topic," B'Elanna said as she thought about the kiss that Seven had just given her. It was the kind of kiss that would make a person happy even on their death bed.

"Is there anything that we can do now anyway? We have no idea what the Socadan are going to do with us. I don't even think the crew knows. Unless we can figure out whatever is going on we don't have anything to plan for," B'Elanna stated dejectedly.

"You are correct B'Elanna, perhaps we should get some rest, we may need all the energy we can get when the Socadan arrive," Seven rested her head on B'Elanna's shoulder.

The other two women nodded, and Naomi made her way to the other bed. Seven felt the strong arms around her loosen as B'Elanna lay her down on the bed. She then felt one of B'Elanna's arms curl around her stomach and pull her close, as the other arm rested beside her head. Seven, for the first time since her encounter with Janeway, felt safe, protected.

Janeway finally made it to the bridge after destroying half the things in her quarters and was still in a foul mood.

"_I can't believe that little whore beat me,"_ Janeway thought, fuming. _"After everything that I've done for that bitch, I hope the Socadan make her beg,"_

"How much longer will it be before we reach the Socadan?" Janeway snarled.

"We'll meet up with them in another 13 hours, Captain," Kim informed her.

"Not soon enough, I want to be there in less than 3 hours, and I don't give a damn about what you have to do to the engines to make it happen."

"If we increase our speed to warp 9.34, we can get there in about two and a half hours, without too much damage to the engines," Paris informed the bridge crew.

"Do it, Paris," Janeway ordered as she sat down in her command chair.

For the next hour the bridge crew remained in relative silence, only speaking to report their current tactical situation and estimated time of arrival.

"Tuvok, take a security team down to the brig and prepare the merchandise for delivery," Janeway said breaking the silence.

"Yes Captain," the Vulcan answered and, tapped his comm. badge, saying, "Security team Alpha meet me in the brig."

Most people believed that Vulcans have no emotions, but they were wrong. Vulcans did one of two things; the first was to bury emotion to the point that it would not hinder logic. The second course of action was to hide emotions, it required far less discipline, but was the same as lying about yourself your entire life. This path blurs the line between right and wrong, and if left unchecked, could spawn a most ruthless and uncaring individual, that would do anything for power.

Tuvok left the bridge, and stepped into the turbo lift. Even with all the logic that was drilled into Tuvok his entire life he still could not see that what he was doing was wrong. The only thoughts entering his mind were what he was going to do once he returned to the Alpha Quadrant. Perhaps he would be given a promotion, and that in turn would bring him possibly more wealth and power.

In the brig B'Elanna, Seven, and Naomi remained asleep, completely unaware of what they were going to be put through next. The guard still watched them attentively, looking for any opportunity to use his phaser, when the door opened, admitting Tuvok, followed by four other security officers, each carrying a phase rifle.

"Has the merchandise given you any trouble Foster," Tuvok asked as he stared at the sleeping forms of the three women.

"No sir, they've been asleep for the past couple of hours. Since the Borg isn't at full strength I don't think they're going to make any escape attempt," Foster stared at the women in contempt.

"I concur, but the situation must still be taken seriously," Tuvok stated. "Weapons ready. Set to stun only," Tuvok said to his security team before saying to Foster, "Lower the force field."

As the force field dropped the security team stunned the three sleeping women. Two of them lowered their weapons and entered the cell while the rest maintained their aim on the women.

"Michaels, Simpson," Tuvok said to the two men in the cell, "separate Seven and Torres."

The guards carefully pulled Seven out of B'Elanna's arms. The security team was told that any damage done to the prisoners would not be tolerated. They then began to pour liquid duranium onto the women's arms and legs. It was a specially treated substance, that after mixing with oxygen for 12 minutes would harden, and all that was required to break it was an amplified sound wave. The guards quickly began to mold the liquid duranium into ropes that circled around the women's limbs. They continued the process until the three women were completely immobilized.

Tuvok then pressed a hypo spray into each of the women's necks, forcing them to regain consciousness. As the women's eyes slowly opened they began to panic, and tried to get free. After a few moments of struggling they realized that the only parts of their body that they could move were their eyes; the security officers had done their job well.

"Was this really necessary Tuvok?" B'Elanna spoke with contempt. "Seven isn't strong enough to put up a fight, and Naomi is only a child."

"The Captain has ordered me to take every precaution that I feel necessary to deliver you to the Socadan," Tuvok stated. "Prepare them for transport, we will be docking with the Socadan space station in 30 minutes," Tuvok said to Foster, and then left the brig, presumably returning to the bridge.

"Alright you four, let's get these three down to the shuttle bay." Foster motioned Simpson to help him carry Seven.

As the Socadan space station appeared on the view screen Janeway smiled. Everything was going just as she had planned it. She turned around as Tuvok entered the bridge, "Is the merchandise ready for transport?"

"Yes Captain, we are ready to make the exchange," Tuvok said as he took his station.

"We are being hailed," Kim spoke, "it's the Socadan. They are giving us clearance to dock."

"Good, Tuvok, Chakotay you're with me," Janeway said as she began to make her way down to the shuttle bay. _"I can't wait to finish with Seven when she comes back,"_ Janeway thought with a smirk.

When the two men entered the turbo lift Janeway spoke, "In exchange for the hybrids we will be receiving an upgrade to our warp engine that will allow us to maintain a speed of warp 9.5 for eighteen hours, before causing any engine stress. There are also the upgrades to weapons, trans. phasic torpedoes, as well as instruction on how to create more. Our shields will also be improved, I believe they call it reflective shielding. They will be able to deflect any enemy weapon fire up to a point the shields are drained below 40. When we get back home we are going to be heroes."

Janeway finished her speech as the turbo lift doors opened and the three stepped out. As they reached the center of the shuttle bay they saw the bodies of B'Elanna, Seven, and Naomi, wrapped tightly in liquid duranium.

"Captain, a mister Carkonas is asking permission to beam over," Kim said over Janeway's comm. badge.

"_The Socadan representative,"_ Janeway thought before responding, "Beam him directly to the shuttle bay Mr. Kim."

A few seconds later a shimmer of blue signaled the arrival of Carkonas. He walked up to the three bound women, eyeing them critically. "These are the two organic hybrids," he said pointing to B'Elanna and Naomi, "and this is the technological hybrid," he said pointing at Seven.

"Yes, they have been prepared for transport to your specifications," answered Tuvok.

"Excellent, I believe that we have a deal Captain," Carkonas said smiling.

To be continued.... (come on I know you saw it coming)


	7. The Doctor's Reward

Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal

Part Seven

"Excellent, I believe that we have a deal Captain," Carkonas said, smiling.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot to ask Carkonas, why are these half-breeds so important to you?" Janeway questioned.

"It is impossible for my species to mate with others. Even when the Borg assimilated us we remained separate both physically and mentally. Their implants simply could not maintain a stable connection with our bodies. These mongrels," Carkonas said as he pointed to the hybrids, "fascinate my kind. And before I forget, there was one more piece of technology that your doctor might find interesting. Consider it a bonus for providing us with such high quality merchandise."

Carkonas handed the captain a small device that looked similar to a removable hard drive used in old earth times.

"What is it?" Janeway questioned.

"It is all the knowledge we currently have on creating replacement bodies," Carkonas stated. "With some small modifications, you will be able to create an organic body for your doctor. He will be completely human."

"This will completely change the way medicine is practiced on my world, thank you." Janeway said, staring down at the small storage device in awe.

"I must be leaving now, Captain. The scientist in me simply cannot wait to begin my experiments. The technology will be integrated into your ship over the next week, during that time please enjoy your stay at space station Kisoden III. Calico, beam myself and the chattel to my lab." Carkonas said as he pressed two fingers to the side of his neck.

In a shimmer of blue sparkles Carkonas, Seven, B'Elanna, and Naomi disappeared.

"He must have an implant in his neck," Janeway said. "Perhaps we can create the same technology for ourselves, it would be much safer that having comm. badges that could easily be lost in a struggle."

"I will see what can be done about it Captain," Tuvok said as he left the shuttle bay.

"Shall I prepare the shore leave schedule, Captain? This space station would be an excellent place to acquire supplies and give the crew a much needed break," Chakotay asked hopefully.

"Yes, I for one could use a break," Janeway said as she and Chakotay began to make their way to the bridge.

Carkonas walked into his lab to find the three women had been transported to a cell in the far corner.

The cell was made of a clear polyueronic alloy, and the floor and ceiling were a pasty white. The liquid duranium had been removed from the prisoners. The short one with the dark hair had her arms wrapped around the taller women and the child protectively. She was obviously the alpha female of the group.

This was proven when she stared defiantly at Carkonas before demanding, "What the hell do you want with us?"

Carkonas smiled, "My people have not seen hybrids in a very long time. The information that I will gain from my experiments on you will be quite valuable."

"Seven can't survive without regenerating," the alpha female said pulling the tall blonde closer. "If you don't let her go she will die."

"I have been preparing for this for the past two months. This cell was specially designed for her. A low level energy is being transmitted into the cell that will recharge her implants. For obvious reason the cell will not recharge them fully. Your Captain said she would be much easier to handle this way."

"How long are we to be your prisoners?" Seven asked speaking for the first time.

"That all depends." Carkonas said "If you survive the experiments you will be released, provided that I collect all the information I require."

"Voyager's doctor has detailed medical files on all of us, wouldn't that information provide you with the information you require?" Seven asked.

"It was actually because of your medical files that you were selected, and it would have been impossible for your doctor to perform the required experiments with your primitive technology."

"How long will it take for you to complete your experiments?" Seven asked.

"It should not take more than five days and Voyager will remain here for one week. You can be returned to Voyager after I am finished, but that is enough questions for today, get some rest. The experiments begin tomorrow morning, you will need your strength," Carkonas said as he left his lab.

In sickbay unusually large groups of crewman were standing around the doctor, and the group seemed to be getting larger by the minute. The entire crew seemed to be complaining of headaches and nausea.

"Come now, I'm sure that you can all tolerate a few mild headaches," the doctor stated in his usual cocky manner. "I have much more important things to be dealing with. Our benefactors have given me the technology to create an organic body, and that is a little more important than this. Just take these with a glass of water the next time you have a headache," The doctor handed each of them a bottle full of white pills.

The crewmen left quietly after that, and the doctor turned back to his data pad as he searched for a way to adapt the procedure to suit his needs. _"This probably would have been a lot easier if B'Elanna and Seven were still here,"_ the doctor mused.

Tapping his comm. badge he said chirpily, "Captain, please report to sick bay. I believe that I have found a way to adapt the procedure."

"I am on my way," sounded the Captain's voice over the comm. badge.

The doctor smiled as he read over the data pad again, "If this works I can have a human body in 18 hours," the doctor thought happily.

Just as the doctor was about to continue fantasizing about all he could do with his new body, the doors to sick bay opened, and Janeway entered rubbing her forehead.

"Doctor, can you give me something for this headache?" Janeway asked as she rubbed the sides of her head.

"Certainly Captain," the doctor said as he inserted a hypo spray into the Captain's neck. "I have been speaking with Carkonas, he believes that he will be finished his experiments on the hybrids by the time the new systems are installed on Voyager. He said that if we do not want them back he can terminate them for us."

"We have already decided to keep them. I still haven't finished with Seven." Janeway said with a smirk.

"They can be used for dangerous away missions, and even with the upgrades it will take us quite some time to return to Earth," the doctor agreed.

"I just hope the memory disruptor works, or when we return to the Alpha quadrant they will report us all to Starfleet. Need I remind you of what happened to Captain Ransom," Janeway said.

Captain Ransom had killed alien life forms to use as fuel in his warp engines. It had ended with the creatures fighting back and Voyager taking the crew members that survived.

"I have been thinking about that as well Captain. I do not believe we even need the memory disruptor. If the entire crew says that the hybrids' minds were altered during the attack and a partial assimilation was preformed on them it will cast considerable doubt on their story. After the computer logs are changed, they will have no proof that we did anything."

"The only problem is convincing Starfleet that the Borg would go through all that trouble for the hybrids," Janeway said thoughtfully.

"Actually Captain, Seven was a part of Unimatrix 01, to the Borg queen she is extremely valuable. B'Elanna Torres is a very competent engineer, the queen would find her worthy of assimilation."

"What about Naomi, she's only a child? What possible use could she be to the Borg queen?" Janeway asked.

"Seven of Nine was assimilated as a child, a little younger than Naomi is now. Seven was groomed from a young age to be a part of Unimatrix 01, Naomi could be as well. She is also the only child on Voyager. It will help to back up our story."

"Alright Doctor, you've convinced me. I just hope that we can control them, otherwise we'll have to terminate them."

"Yes Captain," the Doctor said smiling, "but enough about them. Take a look at this, if we start now I can have an organic body in less than a day," The Doctor handed the captain his data pad.

"I've just had another thought, when Seven comes back to Voyager she will have her full Borg strength, she may try to get even." Janeway said a little worried.

"There is nothing to worry about Captain. Ensign Kim has altered Seven's alcove to produce muscle relaxants. As long as we do not allow Seven to repair her alcove she will be easy to control."

"Excellent, Doctor," the captain said, smiling in relief. "I should be able to finish what I started with Seven before Carkonas interrupted without any problems. Do whatever you need to do to finish your project, and then talk to Chakotay about getting some shore leave," Janeway said as she left sick bay.

The doctor happily began to gather his tools then made his way to transporter room 2.

In transporter room 2 crewmembers were transporting to Kisoden III in large groups, happily discussing the fate of the three hybrids, when the doctor strolled in carrying his tool box.

"I am afraid that you are all going to have to find other means of transport to Kisoden, I will need this transporter to create myself an organic body," the doctor said happily.

"What are you talking about, Doctor? You're a hologram, how can you have an organic body?" Foster asked in confusion.

"It is actually quite simple. I don't know why I didn't think of it before. The only problem is that it can only be done while we are docked at a space station as it requires quite a bit of power to accomplish..." the doctor started to explain.

"Yeah, sure Doc, we'll just get out of your way," Foster interrupted. "Alright people, let's go to transporter room 1," Foster ordered, thankful that the doctor didn't start another one of his long-winded stories.

The other crew members quickly followed Foster out of the room.

"Well, I thought it was interesting," the doctor said to an empty room as he opened his tool box and began work.

"Let's see," the doctor mused. "First I'm going to have to connect the transporters to the replicators."

The doctor opened a panel at the bottom of the unit and pulled out the middle circuit board and began making his alterations, and almost seven hours of steady work later, the first set of alterations was complete.

"Alright, now I have to make a transporter log of my physical parameters," the doctor thought out loud as he input the commands into the console. He stepped onto the transporter and shimmered out of existence for a few seconds before re-appearing.

"Now I have to alter the log of my physical parameters from energy based to carbon based," the doctor said as he pulled out the alien information storage device and hooked it up to the console. After three hours the physical parameters had been changed.

"Finally to create my human body." the doctor said to him self, "Computer, initiate program human doctor."

The familiar blue light of the transporter suffused the room as the replicator created the raw materials for a human body and the transporters converted those materials into a living, breathing human. When the transporter finally finished its work, the doctor's human body lay on its back in the center of the transporter pad.

"Computer, beam my human body to sick bay," the doctor said triumphantly.

The doctor quickly made his way to sick bay almost skipping with excitement. When he entered sick bay he found his body lying on the bio-bed, looking as if it were asleep.

"The Doctor to Paris," The doctor said tapping his comm. badge.

"Yeah, what is it Doc?" sounded the voice of Paris.

"I have created my organic body and I now wish to integrate my consciousness into it. I will require your assistance."

"On my way, Doc."

"I will expect you shortly," the doctor said as he tapped off his comm. badge.

"And now to convert my program into brainwaves," the doctor said as he attached the alien storage device to the sick bay console. He watched as the program was installed onto the computer.

Just as it finished Paris walked into the sick bay. "How long is this going to take Doc? I have shore leave tomorrow."

"This should not take long Mr. Paris, I estimate in two hours, I will have a human body," the doctor said proudly.

"You know it's times like this that I miss B'Elanna," Tom said thoughtfully, "this really is something she would be better at."

"Then you will be happy to know that she will be returning to us when we are finished with the improvements to Voyager," the doctor said as he started the program.

"What are you talking about, Doc?" Paris said, shocked, "I thought the Socadan were going to keep her."

"They are only needed for a few experiments, after that the Socadan will have no use for them," the doctor said, frowning a little.

"I've been thinking about it for the past few days Doc, what we did to her, not to mention Seven and Naomi, was pretty bad," Paris said sadly.

"Are you feeling well, Mr. Paris? Have you been having any headaches or been nauseous recently?" the doctor questioned.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I have been, but I thought it was just Neelix's cooking," Paris said thoughtfully.

"Here," the doctor pressed a hypo spray to Paris's neck, "this should take care of it."

"Thanks Doc, I'm feeling much better now, I was really out of it there for a minute. I actually felt sorry for those half-breeds," Tom said with a sneer. "If they're going to come back to Voyager they're going to have to start earning their keep, and they better not say anything to Starfleet."

"You don't have to worry about that, if they say anything nobody's going to believe them anyway. With the story the captain created they won't be able to prove anything," the doctor said cheerfully.

"Now look at this." the doctor said as he pointed to the screen, "This is the program that will integrate my consciousness into the organic body. It will run from 0 to 100 percent over the next two hours, there should not be any problems, but if something does happen abort immediately and I will return to my holographic body."

"Sure thing Doc, you've got nothing to worry about," Paris said reassuringly.

"Computer, initiate program," the doctor ordered. Immediately his matrix shut down as the computer started converting his program.

After the computer finished converting the doctor's program into human brain waves the hard part began; transferring those brain waves into the human body. Finally, two hours later, the program had completed flawlessly.

The doctor slowly opened his now human eyes, then quickly stood up, "It worked, I'm human!" the doctor shouted triumphantly to Paris

Six Socadan scientists entered the lab and pointed their phasers at the three hybrids.

"Time to wake up," barked Carkonas, "we have a lot to do today," he smiled as the other scientists pulled the women to their feet.

To be continued... (It just wouldn't be my style to do this any other way)


	8. Genetic Traits

Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal

Part Eight

"We have a lot to do today," Carkonas said. "We will start with the Borg hybrid. Take her to the examination room."

"Don't even think about it," B'Elanna snarled, struggling to free herself from the two Socadan holding her.

The remaining Socadan immediately aimed their phasers at her as Carkonas spoke. "We will do whatever we wish to all of you, and if you cooperate this will go much more quickly."

"Please B'Elanna, they are correct, I will be fine," Seven said as she was pulled out of the cell.

"What are you going to do to me?" Seven asked when the door to the cell closed.

"We have developed a way to augment the genetic structure of carbon based life forms. The only problem is that our species does not have the correct genetic trait to make the augmentation stable. Hybrids on the other hand do have the correct genetic trait. However they are exceptionally rare in our culture. Very few species in this area are genetically compatible, and the few that are produce offspring that live for only a few hours, if at all."

"Why would you do this, what possible knowledge could you gain?" Seven asked as her eyes widened, showing her fear.

"If we are successful in augmenting your bodies we can synthesize the genetic trait necessary to perform the same changes on our own species."

"What do you hope to accomplish with these experiments?"

"We plan on developing a way to create a super soldier, an enhanced being that we can use to finally defeat the Borg. If everything goes according to plan, in two years we will have a soldier that is impossible to assimilate both physically and mentally," Carkonas said proudly.

"There is no need to defend yourselves against the Borg, they have agreed not to attack you." Seven said, confused.

"My people no longer find the terms of our agreement satisfactory, and we believe that as soon as they find a way to assimilate us, they will be back," Carkonas said.

At this point the only thing Seven could think about was Naomi and B'Elanna. She could not allow the Socadan to mutate them. "B'Elanna and Naomi Wildman are not needed. Perform all of your experiments on me," Seven said desperately.

"Do not worry, we plan to. The other two will only be used if you die during the process," Carkonas said smirking. "All you have to do is survive five days, after that we will have no more use for you, and then you can do whatever you wish."

With that, Carkonas pulled out a hypo spray and injected it into Seven's neck.

"What did you inject me with?" Seven demanded as her eyes began to lose focus.

"I would think it would be obvious to a former Borg. You have just been injected with the Omega molecule."

"How... the Omega molecule... not stable," Seven said as her eyes began to droop.

"We developed a way to stabilize the molecule two years ago. We naturally immediately began testing the molecule, and discovered what it does to other living organisms. At first we believed that Omega was a symbiote, but after further observation we realized that it merged with the other organism. By the time the changes were complete the organism was smarter, faster, and showed a much higher level of intelligence. However, without the genetic trait of a hybrid, Omega became unstable and the organism died three days after the change."

"When the Borg assimilated me I was not a hybrid," Seven said as her breathing became labored.

"That is precisely why we wanted you. We believe that when you were assimilated by the Borg they gave you the hybrid trait. After the procedure is complete we will harvest the trait and use it to create a safer transformation for our people.

"Take her back to her cell," Carkonas said pointing to Seven, "make sure she is comfortable, we would not want anything to happen to our prized specimen."

Two of the Socadan grabbed Seven's arms and half dragged, half carried Seven back to her cell.

In the cell B'Elanna was pacing back and forth. _"What the hell are they doing to you Seven?"_ B'Elanna thought, looking at the door every few seconds.

"B'Elanna, is Seven going to be okay?" Naomi asked looking just as worried as B'Elanna.

"Seven is going to be okay, Naomi. Before you know it we're all going to be out of here," B'Elanna said trying to reassure the child.

As B'Elanna moved towards the child to gather her into her arms, the door their cell opened and two guards appeared, carrying the limp form of Seven of Nine between them. Two other guards pulled out their phasers and aimed them at Naomi and B'Elanna.

"Put your hands above your heads and move to the far wall," the guard holding Seven stated.

Naomi and B'Elanna did as ordered, watching as Seven was brought into the cell and laid down on the floor. When the guards retreated, they immediately rushed over to Seven and began to check her over. They were not reassured by what they discovered; Seven's skin was even paler than before, she was unconscious, shaking and running a high fever.

"What the hell did you do to her?" B'Elanna demanded.

"That is none of your concern, mongrel," one of the guards sneered. "Just be thankful that it is still alive."

B'Elanna pulled Seven into her arms and cradled her until the shaking stopped, "Don't worry Seven, we're going to be okay," B'Elanna whispered.

Eventually B'Elanna and Naomi both fell asleep as well, each of them holding tightly onto Seven. The Socadan would have much more trouble separating the three women the next time.

_Seven's dream_

Seven was standing in a white room that seemed to stretch out for miles, it didn't matter in which direction she moved the landscape remained static, leaving her with the feeling that she hadn't moved at all. Eventually she became frustrated and sat down.

After what seemed an age, when Seven felt she had lost all hope, a voice sounded in the sterile space.

"Welcome child, we have been waiting for you for a very long time."

Another voice sounded, "We have never given up hope."

Then another: "You will do great things."

And finally the last, which had a leadership quality to its tone, "Your suffering is almost at an end child, soon you will be ready."

"What do you mean? What is happening to me?" Seven asked desperately.

"You once said that you wished for redemption, a chance to help people instead of destroying them. This is your chance."

"How, after everything that I have done?" Seven asked.

"You will know when the time is right child, but now you must wake up."

"No, please wait, there is still so much I need to know," Seven said desperately as the room she was standing in slowly dissolved into darkness.

B'Elanna was the first of the trio to wake up. As she looked around the cell she noticed that she lay on Seven's right and Naomi on Seven's left. Nothing seemed out of place but something about Seven just didn't seem right. In an odd way, she looked shorter. At first B'Elanna put it down to her imagination, but when she wrapped her arm around Seven's waist she knew something was definitely wrong. She couldn't feel Seven's abdominal implant, but Seven appeared to be functioning just fine.

"Seven, wake up!" B'Elanna said as she began to gently shake her.

Seven slowly opened her eyes and turned her head to face the person that was shaking her. As her eyes began to focus she noticed the shocked expression on B'Elanna's face and quickly grew alarmed.

"What is it B'Elanna?" Seven asked.

B'Elanna didn't answer at first, just stared at her in shock. "Seven, what happened to you?" she said as she put her hand on Seven's cheek. "You look so young, about nineteen if I had to guess."

B'Elanna frowned for a second before she took Seven's hands and helped her to stand up. "You're shorter than you were last night too."

Seven noticed that as well. Yesterday her chin had reached the top of B'Elanna's head but today she was an inch shorter than B'Elanna.

"It must be part of the changes the voices spoke of," Seven said.

"Seven, is that you? What happened?" Naomi asked clearly shocked at the changes in Seven. Seven's normally skin tight bio-suit was hanging limply around her, clearly too big for the much altered former drone.

"The Socadan injected me with the Omega molecule," Seven said quietly

"THE OMEGA MOLECULE!" B'Elanna shouted. "It isn't even stable. What the hell were they thinking putting that inside you?"

"It is not as bad as it sounds," Seven stated. "They have found a way to stabilize Omega. The organisms they have previously tested it on were enhanced considerably."

B'Elanna had spent too much time with Seven not to be able to instantly tell when Seven was lying or trying to hide something. "Seven, there is something you're not telling us." she said with certainty.

"There is." Seven said with a sigh. "It explains why they wanted only hybrids. We possess the genetic trait necessary to survive the transformation. If they perform it on anyone else, Omega becomes unstable and the test subject is destroyed."

"Wait a minute Seven, you're technically not a hybrid, you were assimilated. That means you don't have the genetic trait," B'Elanna said, getting worried.

"That is not completely accurate B'Elanna. For full assimilation to be successful, the potential drone must be implanted with the genetic trait. If it is not present the implants will eventually be rejected and the drone will die."

"So you're going to be okay?" Naomi asked, "You're not going to die?"

"No, the hardest part of the change is completed. We will be able to leave in four days. They only want to know if the transformation can be completed safely. After they receive a stable blood sample from me, they will have no use for us."

"How much of you will change?" B'Elanna asked. "When I woke up this morning I didn't feel your abdominal implant."

Seven's hand immediately went to her stomach. There was nothing there, no metal reminder of her years as a Borg. "Omega must have removed it, this also explains why I don't feel weak anymore," Seven said happily.

"How come the implants on your face and arm are still there?" Naomi asked curiously.

"It might be because the Borg completely removed your arm, and your eye. Omega must not be able to completely regenerate body parts or it might just take longer for it to merge with technology rather than organic compounds," B'Elanna speculated.

"It is still too early to tell B'Elanna. It will take another four days before the transformation is complete. I am unsure of what the next change will be, or how long before it happens."

"Seven, when you woke up this morning you were talking about voices. What did you mean?" B'Elanna asked curiously.

"It was a dream, the first dream I have had since I was assimilated. The voices told me that this transformation was my chance for redemption. They said that I will do something that is supposed to make up for all the atrocities I committed as a Borg."

"Seven, none of that was your fault, you had no control over what you did," B'Elanna said, trying to soothe the younger woman's guilt.

"It does not matter if I wanted to do it or not. It was still my body, my hands, that did those horrible things," Seven said quietly.

B'Elanna pulled the now shorter woman into a hug. She didn't know what she could say to make Seven feel better so she just held onto her, hoping that that would be enough.

To be continued...(wow, no cliff hanger this time)


	9. Evolution

Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal

Part Nine

"I can't believe I did that," Paris said as he sat in the mess hall. "I sold out Naomi, betrayed B'Elanna, and sent Seven to hell. I told her that things on Voyager were different, that I was her friend."

"I know what you mean. I don't know what possessed me to do the things I did. The captain ordered me to tamper with Seven's alcove," Kim said sadly, deciding not to mention the other things that he had done with the captain. "B'Elanna and Seven have saved all our lives more times than I can count, and this is how we repay them."

"What I did was so much worse," Samantha Wildman said, beginning to cry. "I told my own daughter than I didn't want her, that she was a mistake. I threw her out of our home, and let the captain trade her for a faster way home. She is never going to forgive me for this," Samantha Wildman sobbed.

"I was her godfather," Neelix said softly. "I promised to always take care of her, to protect her. I failed. Hell I didn't even try. We don't deserve their forgiveness, and we can't ever make it up to them."

The other three nodded their heads sadly. As Neelix looked around the mess hall he realized that they weren't the only ones that felt this way, almost everyone looked like they regretted what they had done. As Neelix thought about it he realized that no one had even explored the space station yet, they were all still on the ship, too deeply depressed by what they had done.

"Something isn't right," Neelix said, attracting the attention of the rest of the people in the mess hall. "I don't know how, but I think something has been controlling us. Its way too convenient, we all turned against them at the same time, and now we all regret it at the same time. I'm going to talk to the captain about this," Neelix stood up and began to leave the mess hall.

"Wait for us," Paris said, "you might need some help convincing the captain that something isn't right."

"I think I'm going to need all the help I can get," Neelix said as the four of them made their way to the bridge.

"How long until the upgrades are completed?" Janeway asked.

"The Socadan have informed us that it will take five more days to complete," Tuvok reported to the captain.

"Excellent, keep me informed," Janeway said, smiling.

"Captain, there is something else. I wish to know how you plan to handle the return of the hybrids to Voyager. It would be less of a security risk to simply eliminate them." Tuvok said.

"Yes, but their expertise would definitely make the trip faster, maybe even safer."

"What do you plan to do when we reach the Alpha quadrant? There is still the possibility they might find a way to prove what we have done."

"The doctor and I have discussed it further. If they say anything to Starfleet it will look like they are suffering the psychological effects of an encounter with the Borg. The rest of the crew will back up our story and destroy all the evidence pertaining to it." Janeway said smugly.

"After everything that has happened, how will you convince them to return to Voyager?" Tuvok asked.

"I have also thought about this, and I have the perfect way to do it," Janeway smirked. "Naomi Wildman is underage, according to the laws of both Starfleet and the Socadan. After the Socadan are finished with them Naomi will have to return to Voyager, and from what I know about Seven and Torres they won't just leave her here with us. They will come back to make sure nothing happens."

"How do we know that they will not attempt to escape?"

"Eventually they'll come around, they just have to realize that sometimes you have to take one for the team," Janeway optimistically.

"If you are sure, Captain," Tuvok said.

The doors of the captain's ready room opened and Neelix walked in followed by Paris, Wildman, and Kim.

"Captain, there is something we have to talk to you about," Neelix started.

"Captain, if you will excuse me, I must begin my patrol," Tuvok said as he left.

"Neelix, you were saying?" the captain asked.

"Captain, I think something happened to us, all those things we said and did to B'Elanna, Naomi and Seven, and it just doesn't make any sense. Without them we won't make it to the Alpha quadrant," Neelix said, visibly upset.

"Relax Neelix, I feel the same way, and we are going to get them back. I have already talked to the Socadan, they will release them in two more days," Janeway said, trying to calm them down.

"Captain, do you think they will ever forgive us?" Wildman asked softly.

"I'm sure everything is going to be fine, Samantha. They'll get over it eventually," Janeway said. "The only problem is they may not want to come back after everything that has happened."

"Isn't there anything we can do to change their minds?" Paris asked.

"Well, there is something we can do," Janeway said, pretending to have just thought of it. "Since Naomi is still underage we can make her come back to Voyager."

"If Naomi comes back then Seven and B'Elanna will have to come back as well," Kim said cheerfully, finishing Janeway's thought.

"Exactly," Janeway said smiling, "it's not how I wanted to do this but we need them."

"Captain, did they tell you what they were doing to them?" Samantha asked, deep concern etching her features.

"You don't have to worry," Janeway lied. "The Socadan said they were only going to do a few medical tests and take some blood samples; they should be fine."

"Seven, do you know what else they are going to do to you?" B'Elanna asked.

"I am unsure, I can only assume that they will want to verify their experiments once my body has stabilized."

As if on cue, Carkonas entered the cell carrying a data pad, followed by three other Socadan carrying phasers.

"It seems the first phase has completed with no problems," Carkonas said, smirking.

"The first phase? What the hell are you talking about?" B'Elanna said, moving Seven behind her.

"Do you truly believe that introducing Omega into a living organism could be done with just a simple hypo spray?" Carkonas asked, sneering. "I knew you humans were inferior, but I had hoped that you would at least know this much. The changes are still far from stable."

"You're going to tell me everything that you did to her," B'Elanna demanded.

"Come now, you are in no position to be making demands. I could make the situation far less comfortable for you all."

"B'Elanna only wishes to know what to expect. As you have said, you will have no use for us after Omega has stabilized," Seven said, hoping that Carkonas would not follow through with his threat.

"I am not a cruel man," Carkonas said pretentiously. "I will of course provide you with a complete report of our findings, but first we must complete the second phase."

Carkonas then began speaking to the guards. "Bring the test subject to the examination room, I want to know of all the changes that have taken place before we begin."

As the guards moved forward to pull Seven out of the cell, B'Elanna pushed them back roughly, "You're not doing anything else to Seven."

As the guards steadied their phasers on the half Klingon, Carkonas interceded. "Torres, if we do not begin phase two, Omega will de-stabilize, and your friend will die."

B'Elanna looked between the guards and Seven before finally relenting. "Alright, but if you hurt her I will kill every last one of you."

Looking into B'Elanna's eyes, Carkonas recognized she was serious. "As a show of good will Torres, I will stay here and answer all of your questions personally," Carkonas said, trying to placate the enraged women. He knew that she would not be able to follow through with her threat but a great many of his people could be injured in the process.

Seven was led out of the room by the guards, as B'Elanna stared coldly at the Socadan.

"You can start by telling me why you picked Seven first," B'Elanna stated.

"It is actually quite simple, but I am not surprised that an inferior species like yours could not figure it out. If the procedure is successful we will be performing the same procedure on our own people. If Omega can only be successfully bonded to a species with the hybrid genetic trait we must know now if it will bond with a subject in which the trait has been artificially introduced."

"Do you know what could happen to Seven in the long run?"

"We believe that Omega will adapt the subject's body so that they can deal with any environment. In addition the longer a subject is bonded with Omega the more powerful they become. In fact by the time you reach the Alpha quadrant the drone will have adapted to the point that it will be a serious force to be reckoned with."

"Seven isn't like that, she doesn't care about power."

"No one is perfect and, in my experience, absolute power corrupts absolutely every one."

"So what are you going to do when your own people become too powerful to handle? How are you going to deal with them?"

"We have prepared for that. When we transform our own people we will leave the procedure incomplete, they will be given a special serum to balance Omega. If you wish we can do the same thing to the drone, it will give your people a way to control her."

"NO, those bastards have done enough to us already. I will not let them turn Seven into a slave."

"As you wish, I will not mention the serum to your captain."

"Will Voyager let us leave?"

"That is up to you and your captain. You will be released before Voyager is ready to leave. If you wish to escape your crew, you must do it then."

As Seven entered the examination room, her attention was drawn to the bio-bed in the center of the room. It was not dissimilar to the technology that was aboard Voyager.

"My name is Callik. We are going to give you a thorough physical examination first." One of the guards said as he walked into the middle of the room.

He looked very similar to Carkonas except for the fact that he was a couple of inches taller and seemed to have more of an athletic muscled build, which was rare for his species.

"The doctor of Voyager has given you my complete medical file. This is not necessary," Seven said, hoping that they would just let her go back to B'Elanna and Naomi.

"That may be correct, but you have gone through some significant physical changes since then," Callik answered. "If you cooperate this will go much easier for the both of us," Callik said, his voice growing hard.

Seven stepped back, getting the feeling that Callik was not a man to upset.

"You will need to remove your clothing so that we can begin your examination."

Seven shakily pulled down the zipper of her bio suit and pulled off her clothing. For the first time she could recall, she was embarrassed. She did not feel comfortable exposing her body in front of these people.

"B'Elanna is the only one that should see me like this." The thought hit her like a ton of bricks. Why did she feel this way? The only conclusion she could draw was she had feeling for B'Elanna. Seven was completely shocked by the fact that she could have such strong feeling for someone she had only gotten to know over the past few days.

It took only a moment longer for her to trace how the chief engineer had resurrected this facet of her humanity. B'Elanna had always been there for her when she needed her. She was the first one to treat her as a person.

"I promise you B'Elanna," Seven murmured to herself. "If I survive this I will tell you how I feel."

"Stand up strait, feet shoulder width apart," Callik instructed. "You will also remove the metallic objects in your hair."

Seven nodded, still not looking at the man, and quickly removed her hair pins. Seven's hair cascaded down her back and framed her face softly. She wrapped her arms around her chest in a futile attempt to cover herself.

"That is not what you were told to do," Callik barked. "You will lower your arms and stand with your feet shoulder width apart," he said, now almost shouting.

Seven cringed at his tone and lowered her arms. She stood there for a few seconds as nothing happened. Seven was about to ask what was going on when she felt a warm sensation travel up and down her body. As she looked down she saw a red line slowly moving down her body. "This must how they are scanning me," Seven thought as the line finally stopped at her toes.

"The first scan is complete," Callik said evenly. "You will now lie down on your back," he said, pointing at the bio-bed.

Seven quickly walked over and lay down. She wanted to get this done as fast as possible.

The bio-bed made slight humming noises as it collected data on her physical state. "Temperature 98.9 degrees, normal for your species. Heart beat also appears normal, I see no reason why we can not continue to the next stage."

Callik then tapped his neck twice, activating his comm. "Carkonas, sir, the subject is in good health and we are ready to begin phase two."

"I am on my way," the voice of Carkonas sounded through the comm.

A few moments later Carkonas appeared at the door carrying another hypo spray. He again pressed it to Seven's neck, emptying its contents into her body.

This time instead of making Seven feel weak and tired, she was awake and more aware of her surroundings.

"Why have I not lost consciousness this time?" Seven asked curiously.

"Your body has already begun to adapt, it is only in stage one that you lose consciousness," Carkonas informed Seven.

"May I have my clothing back now?" Seven asked sitting up.

"I am afraid that we can not do that, we must also examine the dead skin cells in your clothing," Carkonas said, now almost leering at Seven's body.

"You are making me feel uncomfortable," Seven said as she wrapped her arms around her legs, attempting to cover her body.

"Yes, of course," Carkonas said, tearing his eyes away from Seven's body. "Callik, bring some clothing for the subject."

Callik turned around and began inputting information into the computer. After he was finished a light blue sanitized medical gown appeared along with a pair of underwear.

Seven quickly put on the clothing as Callik spoke. "The gown has been measured to fit you exactly, you will be issued a second one after the final stage is complete."

Seven ignored him and began examining at the gown they had given her. Completely blue, it was form-fitting and went down to her knee. The material was made of a light almost paper like material that reached to her knees.

"The clothing is acceptable," Seven said when it looked as though Callik had finished speaking.

"You may now return to your cell," Carkonas motioned for the guards to escort her back.

To Be Continued... (what no cliff hanger? And some of the stuff has been explained. I think I might be losing my touch)


	10. Free At Last

Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal

Part Ten

As Seven was being led by the guards to her cell she was aware of their eyes tracking up and down her body. It was the same way Janeway had looked at her before they were traded to the Socadan and again it made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

When the cell door slid open Seven finally looked up to see B'Elanna, and Naomi looking at her with shocked expressions. At first she didn't know what to do. She couldn't even guess what they were thinking.

"Seven, you look different," Naomi said softly.

This caused B'Elanna to recover her composure as well. "They didn't hurt you this time," B'Elanna said with a big smile on her face.

As Seven smiled at her friend's one of the guards decided that she wasn't moving rapidly enough. The guard slapped Seven's bottom sharply causing her to gasp and jump into the cell. She quickly turned around, glaring at the guard and rubbing her bottom.

"Next time do as you're told," the guard said as he left the room, smirking at her.

When the guard left, Seven turned around to see a red faced B'Elanna. She was glaring at the smirking guard. It looked as though she wanted to tear him apart with her bare hands.

Seven quickly padded over to her. "Do not let it bother you B'Elanna, soon we will be able to leave and we will never have to see them again," She gently put her hand over B'Elanna's.

The effect on B'Elanna was almost immediate. She looked down at Seven with a smile on her face, and pulled her in for a tight hug. "I won't ever let anything like this happen to you again."

"This was not your fault B'Elanna, you could not have stopped this from happening." Seven said smiling softly at her.

"Seven, I like your new dress," Naomi said as she walked over. "It doesn't look as uncomfortable as your bio-suits."

Seven smiled again at the child. "Thank you Naomi," She hugged her as well.

As Seven straightened up she felt a pair of arms encircle her waist from behind. She didn't have to look to know that it was B'Elanna. She was the only one that could make her feel this safe and protected. She let B'Elanna support her as she leaned back into her with a content smile on her face.

"I care about you B'Elanna," Seven said, hoping that the passionate woman would return her feelings.

B'Elanna felt like jumping for joy at the words that had just left Seven's mouth. It was as though, for the first time in her life, everything was as it should be. "I have feelings for you too Seven" B'Elanna said as she pulled Seven a little closer to her.

Seven slowly turned around, still wrapped in B'Elanna's arms. She looked up into the eyes of the woman she loved. She leaned closer, gently bringing her hands to B'Elanna's face, and kissed her lips sensuously.

When Seven pulled away, B'Elanna was smiling at her. "I think that I'm falling in love with you Seven." B'Elanna admitted as she brought her lips down to Seven's again, kissing her passionately.

"Well it's about time!" Naomi said, interrupting the two lovers. "The way you two look at each other I can't believe it took this long," she smirked.

"Was it that obvious?" B'Elanna asked as she embraced Seven again.

"You'd have to be blind not to see it, everyone knew about you two. Why do you think Seven's never been on a serious date? They're all afraid of what you'd do to them," Naomi said smiling.

"You're right Naomi," B'Elanna chuckled. "I won't let anyone else kiss these lips," B'Elanna kissed Seven again to illustrate her point.

Seven just smiled up at B'Elanna, "Good."

"Captain, is there some way we can at least visit them?" Samantha asked hopefully.

"I've already inquired about that Ensign, they'll allow absolutely no interruptions," Janeway said, not liking where this conversation was going.

"We made a huge mistake Captain, we have to save them," Tom said desperately.

"My hands are tied Lieutenant, we have an agreement with the Socadan. The technology they are giving us as payment will take years off our trip home, and I won't sacrifice that for anything," Janeway was adamant.

"Captain, they didn't do anything to deserve this. The price was too high," Kim pleaded.

"Oh, come off it, Kim," Janeway said getting annoyed. "You wanted them gone just as much as the rest of us, hell you were the one that sabotaged Seven's alcove."

"We have all been doing things that are completely out of character, I think that something has been controlling us Captain," Neelix said trying to reason with her.

"Let me get this straight, you all did things you regretted," Janeway said, pausing to look at each crew member. "And now you believe that you aren't responsible for those choices because something else is controlling you," she said sarcastically.

"I know it seems strange but..." Samantha started to say.

"That's enough, you're all grasping at straws. Seven, B'Elanna and Naomi will be back on Voyager in three more days, you're just going to have to wait until then."

The crew nodded disappointedly, realizing that they wouldn't be able to get anywhere with Janeway. What ever affected the crew was still affecting Janeway, and until it was out of her system she wouldn't do anything to help their friends.

"Alright Captain, we'll leave it at that," Neelix said dejectedly as he led everyone out.

"Neelix, what are you doing? We have to help them," Tom said when they got out of the ready room.

"I hate to say it but the captain is right, it's too late to do anything now. There is no telling what the Socadan will do if we try to go after them," Neelix said sadly. "The best we can hope to do is make it up to them as soon as they get back."

"Maybe we can throw them a welcome home party," Tom said hopefully.

"I guess it's as good a way as any to make it up to them," Harry agreed.

Samantha and Neelix agreed, and the four of them began to plan what they hoped would be the best welcome back party that Voyager had ever seen.

B'Elanna, Seven and Naomi were sitting comfortably on the cot near the far wall of the cell.

B'Elanna sat on the bed, her back against the wall, with Seven's feet in her lap.

Seven was lying on her back watching as Naomi talked animatedly about what she wanted to do once they got out.

"And then we can go back to that uninhabited planet we passed a few light years ago. We could spend the whole day building sand castles," Naomi finished excitedly.

"We can do all of that Naomi, but first we're going to have to get Seven some shoes, and real clothes" B'Elanna said, smirking at Seven.

"Will we still be able to continue this activity," Seven asked as B'Elanna rubbed her feet.

"Anytime you want, honey." B'Elanna lifted Seven's foot up and kissed her ankle, causing Seven to blush slightly.

"Have you noticed any changes since the last hypo spray?" B'Elanna asked, growing serious.

"I am not sure," Seven said thoughtfully. "Do I look any different?"

B'Elanna and Naomi examined her carefully. At first glance nothing more seemed to have altered.

"_Seven hasn't got any younger, she wasn't sick, and she hasn't lost any more implants,"_ B'Elanna thought. Then something occurred to her. "Your implants," B'Elanna said quickly, "they're different." She lifted Seven up and ran her fingers over Seven's ocular implant. "It feels like it isn't metal anymore. If I had to guess, I would say that the implant was almost completely organic."

"You are correct B'Elanna," Seven said after a moment, "my arm also feels different."

"With Omega inside do you feel stronger?" Naomi asked.

"I am unsure," Seven frowned. "I will have to test it," Reaching across to the other cot, she wrapped her cybernetic hand around one of the legs and tried to twist it, but nothing happened. "I do not understand," Seven said confused. "I should have easily been able to bend the frame, even with just my Borg strength."

"Wait Seven," B'Elanna said. "Let's try something else," she held onto Seven's wrists, and pulled them together. "Okay Seven. Try to move your arms apart."

Seven tried again, but B'Elanna was able to stop her from moving, seemingly without any effort at all.

"Seven, you're about as strong as the average human for your size," B'Elanna said astonished.

"Maybe your strength will come back after the third phase," Naomi said hopefully.

"Yeah, your body is going through a lot of changes. This could be how your body is trying to adjust," B'Elanna said.

"I am tired," Seven said yawning. "Perhaps we should rest," she suggested.

"Good idea Seven, they're probably going to complete the last stage tomorrow, and I think you're going to need your rest for that," B'Elanna said as she lay down on the cot.

Naomi nodded and made her way to the second cot, while Seven moved to B'Elanna's. Seven lay down next to B'Elanna and rested her head on B'Elanna's chest.

B'Elanna wrapped an arm around Seven and kissed her forehead. "Good night Seven."

Seven smiled back sleepily, and mumbled, "Sleep well B'Elanna." She then glanced over at Naomi. "Good night Naomi," she said before falling asleep.

_Seven's Dream_

Seven felt herself waking up in the white room again. She looked around hoping that the voices would get there soon. It felt strange to be there alone.

"Hello, is anyone out there?" Seven asked growing slightly worried.

"Do not fear child," a voice said, seemingly coming from everywhere.

"Please tell me, what is happening to me?" Seven pleaded.

"You are changing child," another voice said. "You are changing into a higher being. You will know power the universe has never seen before."

"What if the power changes me?" Seven asked anxiously. "I do not wish to be responsible for any more deaths."

"That is precisely why you have been chosen to wield the power, child. You are an innocent, and will not use the power for evil."

"What about the Socadan?" Seven asked, remembering what they planned to do.

"They can never control the power. It takes much more than stable Omega molecules to bond with Omega."

"Why will it not work for them?"

"Omega looks into the hearts of those that bond with it. If the person is unworthy, Omega will reject them."

"Does that mean if the Socadan try to bond with Omega they will be destroyed?" Seven asked.

"No child, Omega will leave them, and they will return to normal. There will be a time soon when you must make a choice. Will it be to heal or to protect? Think carefully child, for they are both very different. Each path will lead you in different direction."

"I do not understand," Seven said confused.

"When the time comes you will understand, but now you must wake up."

"Seven, wake up," B'Elanna said as she gently shook the younger women.

Seven slowly opened her eyes and looked up into a pair of worried brown ones. "What is it B'Elanna, what has happened?"

"You were calling out in your sleep, I was worried about you."

"It was another dream about the voices. Only I do not think that it was a dream," Seven said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean Seven, how can it be a dream and not one at the same time?"

"I believe that it is a way for the Omega molecules inside me to communicate. They told me that I would have to make a choice soon, between healing and protecting, and that they both would lead to a different destiny."

"If Omega can think for itself, does that mean that it can choose who to merge with?" B'Elanna asked, catching on.

"Yes," Seven said happily. "The Socadan will not be able to hurt anyone else."

Seven finally sat up and looked over to see Naomi still sleeping. "After everything that has happened to her, she is still so strong."

"I still can't believe that Samantha would turn on her own daughter like that. If she were my daughter I would do everything that I could to protect her."

"Samantha does not spend as much time with her daughter as you believe, B'Elanna."

"What do you mean?" B'Elanna asked.

"I do not believe that Samantha Wildman cares about her daughter as much as she should."

Seven and B'Elanna's musings were cut short when Carkonas and Callik entered the cell, followed by three armed guards.

"Be safe Seven," B'Elanna said as she kissed her.

"That will be enough of that," Callik said as he grabbed Seven's arm and quickly pulled her out of the cell.

"Well, well, it looks like you've been busy," Carkonas said.

"That is none of your concern," Seven said sharply. "Please complete your experiments, and release us."

"Oh yes, about the experiments, we will actually be done sooner than expected. We can release you a few hours after we administer the last hypo spray."

"Explain," Seven said.

"Well you see, Omega has been merging with you much more quickly than we expected. If you continue to merge at the same rate, Omega will stabilize in about three hours."

"Proceed."

Carkonas took the last hypo spray, and carefully injected it into Seven's neck.

This one was not like the others; it felt almost welcoming. It felt as though Omega and Seven were finally one, instead of two separate entities.

"Take her back to her cell so that she may prepare to leave," Callik said to the guards.

When they got back to the cell, Naomi had finally woken up and was looking at Seven expectantly. Seven noticed that one of the guards escorting her was the one that had slapped her bottom the last time. Instead of giving him the satisfaction of doing so again she quickly walked into the cell.

"Seven, is everything okay?" B'Elanna and Naomi asked at the same time.

"Everything is fine," Seven said, reassuring them. "We will be able to leave in a few hours. They said that they will only need to perform one more test."

"That's great," B'Elanna said happily. "All we have to do now is find a ship, and then we can get away from Voyager."

Seven frowned slightly as she realized something they had completely forgotten. "How will we able to get a ship? We do not have any money."

"Then we'll just get jobs on the space station. We'll have enough money saved in no time," B'Elanna said optimistically.

The three prisoners sat down to await their release and a few hours later Callik appeared outside their cell.

"I must scan you now," he said as he pulled out a scanning device and motioned for Seven to move to the front of the cell.

Callik moved the scanner up and down a few times before saying, "Alright we're done. You are free to go."

"Wait, could you have scanned me like this the other time?" Seven asked.

"No, the first stage was the most important and dangerous part. We gain very little new information during the second and third stages, a simple scanner such as this is enough."

Seven nodded and walked out of the cell, followed by B'Elanna and Naomi.

TO BE CONTINUED... (no cliff hanger? But I tried so hard. What, I told everyone what was going on? That can't be right)


	11. Blood of a Lover

Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal

Part Eleven

"What should we do first?" B'Elanna asked as she put one arm around Seven's waist, and held onto Naomi's hand with the other.

"Perhaps we should find a place where we can acquire a ship," Seven suggested.

"Sounds like a plan to me," B'Elanna said as they walked into the market place of the space station Kisoden III.

The space station was sub-divided into smaller stores much like the shopping malls on Earth. Each store had a sign above the entrance with shopkeepers sticking their heads out trying to lure customers inside.

B'Elanna took in her surroundings, noticing a variety of different species bustling around them. As the three hybrids started to make their way through the market, B'Elanna began to notice their stares. B'Elanna followed their gazes, and wasn't surprised to find them all aimed at Seven. She glared back at them angrily and pulled Seven closer to her.

Seven smiled as she felt herself being hugged tighter to B'Elanna. She looked up at B'Elanna, "What is the matter?"

B'Elanna stopped glaring for a moment to look down at Seven. "I don't like the way they're looking at you, it's the same way Janeway ogled you."

"Let's find a ship quickly then," Naomi said as she tugged on B'Elanna's hand.

"This looks like as good a place as any", B'Elanna said as they stopped at Quazo's shipyard.

"Are you sure?" Naomi asked. "It doesn't look like they'll have anything good."

"We do not need anything extravagant, just something to get off this space station," Seven looked about her anxiously.

"What's the matter Seven?" Naomi asked. "We don't have to go back to Voyager, and the Socadan have released us.

"Voyager is still docked to this space station and I do not wish to come in contact with them," Seven said quietly.

"If they sold us out to the Socadan, what's going to stop them from catching us and doing it again?" B'Elanna said, catching on.

"Correct," Seven said as she walked into the shipyard followed closely by B'Elanna and Naomi.

The shipyard didn't look like much from the outside. On the inside it looked like even less. There were crates of ship parts strewn around the shop in random places and small to medium sized ships were placed in rows. Most of them looked like they were salvaged from battles or special anomalies.

"Ah, welcome to my store," a short, grey skinned alien said as he rushed over to Seven and shook her hand vigorously. "What is it that I can do for you this fine day?" he asked.

"We are looking for a ship," Seven stated, taking an immediate liking to the man.

"Well, I do not have anything top of the line, but you are welcome to look around," he said, pointing towards his hangar.

"Thank you," B'Elanna said. "I guess we'll call you over when we see something we like..." she paused, prompting the alien to answer.

"Oh forgive me, my name is Quazo, the owner and proprietor," he said, smiling and walking to the front of the store.

"Do you guys see anything you like?" B'Elanna asked as she scanned the large area.

Seven looked around, but most of the ships appeared either too old or no longer space worthy. "B'Elanna, I do not believe we will find anything of use here," Seven said dejectedly.

"Don't worry about it Seven," B'Elanna said comfortingly. "There are plenty of other places we can look."

"Wait," Seven said suddenly. "I feel something. It is like it is calling to me."

Seven quickly turned on her heel and started walking further into the hangar. She was turning her head rapidly in different directions, as if she was looking for something important.

After a few moments, B'Elanna walked over to Seven and grabbed her hand, "Seven, what's going on?" she asked a little worried.

"I do not know how to explain, but there is something here that wants me to find it."

Seven then started moving further into the bay with B'Elanna and Naomi in tow. When Seven finally halted they were standing in front of a moderately sized ship.

It was covered in dust and dark grey in color. At first glance it looked like just another piece of junk, but as the three women continued to stare they couldn't help but notice its sleek lines. The more they looked the more realized that this was the ship for them.

The ship itself was a little banged up, some of the hull plating was missing and a there was a large whole through the left wing, and a matching one that went through the center of the cockpit. It had clearly been in a battle.

The ship had two long pairs of curved wings. The first pair where on the sides and started close to the stern and curved outwards. The second pair started at the top of the ship, right before the cockpit and curved down along the body a little passed the stern. A small step ladder was below the cockpit that led onto the ship.

"Good choice," B'Elanna said as she moved behind Seven and wrapped her arms around her. "We can probably get a good price for it too," she kissed Seven's cheek.

As they continued to admire the ship, Quazo walked up beside them. "I see that something has caught your eye," he said smiling.

"Yeah, what can you tell us about it?" B'Elanna asked.

"I am afraid that there is not much of a back story to this ship. It was salvaged about 3000 light years from here. The man that brought it to me said that he found it near a black hole. It was badly damaged and will require a lot of work, but I can give it to you at a fair price."

"We were hoping that you would consider trading for it," Seven said.

"Well, that depends on what you have to offer," Quazo said, his interest piqued.

"B'Elanna and I possess superior engineering skills. We could repair some of your ships in exchange for this one."

"Alright, if you can repair these four ships," Quazo said, pointing to the other ships beside them, "then I'll let you have it."

"Those four ships?" B'Elanna asked, disbelief written all over her face. "You have got to be kidding, if I was paid by the hour I could buy a brand new ship with the money."

"They don't need that much work," Quazo said defensively.

"I'll tell you what, we'll fix two of the ships if you let us take any of the parts from the other ships to fix our own," B'Elanna offered.

Quazo looked like he was considering it for a moment before replying, "I think that I can live with that," before smiling again. "But just between us I would have been happy if you fixed just one of them."

Seven smiled as well, "B'Elanna, we should be going, we still must find a place to stay."

"Wait a moment, if you don't mind me asking, how did you end up here and not have a place to stay?"

"We were betrayed by our crew, they have left us here with nothing," Seven said sadly.

"That is horrible," Quazo said aghast. "Abandoning a woman as beautiful as you should be a crime," he said to a now blushing Seven.

"Do you know anywhere we can stay for a few days," B'Elanna asked as she unconsciously pulled Seven closer.

"Since you will be fixing my ships, I insist that you all stay here. I have a room above my shop that I rent out to customers every now and then, but you are doing a lot of work for me so you may stay for free."

"Thank you," Seven and Naomi said, both beaming at Quazo.

"I guess we should get to work," B'Elanna said, looking around. "Where do you want us to start?"

"I would like for you to repair these two," Quazo said, pointing to the ships on either side of them. "I will bring you some tools," he said, walking off.

"Alright, let's start with this one," B'Elanna said pointing to the one on her left. "It looks like it will need the least work."

"B'Elanna, perhaps one of us should repair the ships while the other gathers the necessary parts to repair our ship," Seven suggested.

"Oh, and who do you think should get stuck fixing the ships," B'Elanna asked as she playfully began to tickle Seven.

Seven, laughing and struggling to break free of B'Elanna's arms, said, "Well, you were a chief engineer and I was only an astrometrics officer."

Seven finally managed to turn around so that she was facing B'Elanna, and rested her hands on B'Elanna's shoulders, smiling sweetly.

"Please B'Elanna," Seven said, kissing her softly. "I only asked because..." kissing her cheek, "you are so strong..." kissing her neck. "and so smart," Seven said giving her another longer kiss.

When Seven finished all B'Elanna could do was nod her head in acquiescence, a big grin on her face.

Naomi looked between Seven and B'Elanna before she fell to the ground laughing. "You are so whipped B'Elanna," Naomi said in between giggles.

This finally snapped B'Elanna out of her happy stupor. She looked down at the laughing child, then pounced on her and began to tickle.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Naomi said between laughs. "You're not whipped," she pleaded.

Finally B'Elanna quit the tickle torture, "And don't you forget it squirt," she said, grinning wildly.

When Naomi finally got up she said, "You're not whipped, B'Elanna, you're super whipped."

B'Elanna was about to jump in and start tickling Naomi again when the child scampered behind Seven, then poked her head out to stick her tongue out at B'Elanna, causing Seven to break into giggles herself.

"Captain," Chakotay said as he walked into the ready room. "I would like to talk to you about bringing B'Elanna, Seven, and Naomi back to Voyager."

"What about it Commander?" Janeway asked, looking up from her reports.

"Are you sure that it's wise to bring them back?"

"Of course it is. You know as well as I do that it's going to be next to impossible to replace them."

"I realize that, Captain," Chakotay said with a sigh. "It's just that if we force them to come back, they're going to be even more upset with us."

"I realize that they aren't exactly going to be pleased with us Chakotay, but eventually they'll get over it."

"With the knowledge that B'Elanna and Seven have about Voyager they could turn into a huge security risk. They could give away vital information about Voyager."

"That is exactly why I want them back here. As long as we keep them on Voyager they won't say anything."

"I had a feeling you might say that, which is why I've come up with a plan B."

"Alright, let hear it," Janeway said with a wry smile.

"Well, I've been speaking with some of the people on the space station, they can provide as with a very powerful internal scanner. We can use it to keep a constant lock on Katarian, Klingon, and Borg DNA. They'll never know that we're keeping tabs on them and if they ever try anything we'll know before it starts."

"How soon can you get the scanner?" Janeway asked.

"I could take a team with me to the station and pick it up tomorrow afternoon," Chakotay said, smiling.

"Are you sure the scanner can be adapted to Voyager's systems?"

"I've already talked to Carey about it. He said it should be a pretty simple installation."

"Good, make it a top priority project, and I don't want anything about this getting back to B'Elanna and Seven."

"Yes Captain," Chakotay said happily as he left the ready room.

"Well that's the end of that," B'Elanna said smiling.

She had finally finished repairing the first ship. It had taken a good couple of hours to find the replacement parts and even longer to integrate them into the ship.

"I wonder what Seven and Naomi are up to?" B'Elanna mused as she made her way out of the ship.

"B'Elanna, B'Elanna, you have to see this, it's so cool," Naomi said as she ran out of their ship and began pulling B'Elanna in.

B'Elanna smiled at the enthusiasm of the child then, as they walked into the ship, her jaw dropped.

"How...? what...? This can't be right?" B'Elanna said, looking confused.

"This ship is far more advanced that I realized," Seven said, smiling. "We are standing in a sub space pocket."

"What?" B'Elanna asked, still not understanding the situation. "It is impossible for this ship to be so big on the inside."

"Perhaps this will help to explain," Seven said as she pushed a button.

With a slight popping sound, the inside of the ship was suddenly smaller. Whole sections of the ship just disappeared into nothingness as B'Elanna stared in awe.

"The people that built this ship created a device that allowed them to generate a mini universe inside this ship. When I push this button it opens a door into it," Seven said, pushing the button and watching the ship grow suddenly bigger.

"This is incredible," B'Elanna said happily as she walked over to Seven. "Finally things are going our way," B'Elanna leaned down and gave Seven a kiss.

"That is not all, B'Elanna," Seven said, smiling as well. "When we shut down the sub space pocket anything that is in the pocket becomes completely undetectable, but when it is open we have access to a large amount of power, as well as superior weaponry and shielding."

"Of course," B'Elanna said, thinking out loud. "When the sub space pocket is open all of the technology inside it links with the ship."

"I have been able to get partial weapons, shields and engines on line, but it will require at least another two weeks before we know everything about the ship."

"Is it enough to leave the space station?" B'Elanna asked.

"We may leave as soon as the work on the other two ships is completed."

"Well, the first one is done, so we should be able to leave some time tomorrow afternoon."

"If we salvage all the parts we need before we leave, we should be able to complete the repairs anywhere."

"I think that this calls for a celebration," B'Elanna smiled as she pulled out some money from her pocket. "Quazo gave us a little spending cash because I finished the first ship so quickly," she explained. "First we'll have to get you some clothes." B'Elanna said as she pointed to Seven's bare feet, and a paper dress, "and then we'll go out for some dinner."

Seven and Naomi smiled and quickly began to get ready. After spending those few days in the lab with a bunch of aliens that had no idea what good food tasted like, this would be a welcome change.

After wandering around the station for about an hour, the three women finally found a clothing store. It was the only one in the area that could create shoes and clothing specifically for humans. All of the other stores only had models for the local species.

"What type of dress should I get?" Seven asked.

"How about this one," Naiomi asked as she pulled a dress and blouse off the rack. The dress was white with a black trim that reached an inch below her knees with two slits that went up to mid thigh. The blouse was designed to match the dress to look like one dress. It also had the black trim to it, and was sleeveless.

"Go try it on," B'Elanna encouraged as she ushered Seven to the change rooms. "We'll look for a pair of shoes."

"These would probably be nice." B'Elanna said as she picked out a pair of sandals. The soles looked like they were made of some kind of white cushioned gel. The laces that attached them to Seven's feet were made of a flexible black material.

Just as B'Elanna looked up she saw Seven walk out of the change rooms. The dress clung to her in all the right places and B'Elanna couldn't help but think how beautiful Seven looked.

"Do you like it?" Seven asked. "It is quite comfortable."

"I think you look great." B'Elanna said giving Seven a kiss.

"Try these on too." B'Elanna said as she lifted up the sandals that she had picked.

When Seven sat down B'Elanna helped her put them on and adjust the laces.

"I find these shoes quite comfortable as well." Seven said as she walked around to get a feel for them.

"We'll take them." B'Elanna said to the salesperson.

When Seven, B'Elanna and Naomi finally found a restaurant that they all liked, it was getting pretty late. B'Elanna was contemplating just getting their food to go, but this was also the first time that she had been able to go on a date with Seven.

The inside of the restaurant was quaint. It reminded B'Elanna of an old English pub back on earth. Almost everything there was made of wood, and gave off a cozy feeling to anyone that entered.

Seven smiled as she sat down and looked around the restaurant. It really was a nice place for a first date. Soft music was playing in the background, and the people at the other tables really seemed to be enjoying themselves.

A waiter walked up to them, giving them their menus, "Good evening."

"Good evening," Seven responded. "We have never had any of your cuisine before. What would you suggest?"

"I'll get you the chef's special," the waiter said, smiling. "It's is compatible with the digestive systems of most species on the station."

"Thank you, that should be fine," B'Elanna said.

As the waiter left to give their order to the chef, four very large men entered the restaurant and were seated next to them. As their talking and laughing grew louder the restaurants other patrons quickly realized that they were drunk.

"Excuse me, would you mind keeping it down," B'Elanna shouted, finally losing her patience.

One of the men turned around with a sneer on his face ready to shout back, when he got a good look at B'Elanna and Seven. His sneer immediately turned into a leer as he looked the two women up and down. He then got his friends attention, and they began talking quietly.

B'Elanna smiled. _"That was easier than I thought,"_ she said to herself as she resumed her conversation with Seven and Naomi.

"Hey there beautiful," one of the men said, interrupting their conversation. "How'd you like to come on over here," he slurred as he looked at Seven.

B'Elanna stood up angrily, "Look pal, leave my girlfriend alone."

Seven stood up, trying to calm B'Elanna down. "B'Elanna, perhaps we should get our meals to go," she said quietly.

"Hold on, things are just getting started," another of the men stood up.

"Let me make this clear," B'Elanna growled. "Leave us the hell alone!" she walked up to them ready to throw them out if she had to.

"What's the matter? We're not good enough for you?" the third one asked ungainly lurching to his feet.

"Even if you weren't drunk off your asses, we wouldn't want anything to do with you!"

"I think it's time this bitch was taught a lesson," the first one sneered.

The other two men nodded and started to advance on B'Elanna. They attacked the half Klingon before Seven could intervene. The first man opted for a quick punch to B'Elanna's head, but she easily ducked and rolled out of the way.

"Seven, stay back!" B'Elanna said as she noticed her moving closer out of the corner of her eye. "I don't want you getting hurt."

Seven still looked like she was going to rush into the fray when Naomi grabbed her hand. "Seven you're not strong enough yet," she pleaded.

This was enough to hold Seven back but she still looked on anxiously.

B'Elanna spun around quickly, tripping the first attacker, as another fist smashed down on the table next to her. She quickly grabbed the arm of the second man, twisting it until she heard a snap and a howl of pain. As the man grabbed his broken arm, B'Elanna delivered a sharp kick to his knee sending his sprawling to the floor. Another swift kick to the back of his head and he was down for the count.

The third man growled and tried to kick her, but B'Elanna jumped over his leg and kicked him sharply between the legs as she landed. The man dropped to his knees, grabbing his crotch, but B'Elanna wasn't finished with him yet. As soon as the man looked up she gave him a spinning heel kick to the side of the head, making him crumple to the floor unconscious.

Just as B'Elanna was about to celebrate her victory she felt a sharp pain in her back. She looked around to see the first man, his fist holding a knife in her back and a vicious grin plastered over his features.

"B'ELANNA!" Seven screamed. _"This is not happening, this is not happening,"_ she thought to herself.

The man slowly pulled the knife out, and the blood gushed out of her back. She dropped to the floor into a rapidly widening pool of blood.

To Be Continued...


	12. Miracles Really Do Happen

Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal

Part Twelve

"B"ELANNA," Seven screamed as the woman she loved fell to the floor.

Everyone in the restaurant was staring at B'Elanna's body, not knowing what to do. The blood was pouring out of her so quickly it seemed as if there was no way to save her.

Seven rushed over to B'Elanna and knelt down next to her, pulling B'Elanna's head into her lap. As she looked into her pale face she knew that if B'Elanna died she wouldn't be able to go on. "Please B'Elanna don't leave me," she begged. "We have only just found each other."

"Seven," B'Elanna said weakly. "I will always love you, no matter what. Always remember that," she said as her heart stopped beating.

"No," Seven screamed in anguish. "I won't lose you B'Elanna, not now, not ever," and, almost as if answering her prayer, the whole world around Seven was engulfed in a white light.

"The choice has been made," the now familiar voices sounded.

"Are you prepared to accept everything that is Omega?"

"I will do whatever it takes to save B'Elanna," Seven said in a determined voice.

"So be it."

Seven felt a surge of power rush through her body. As she looked down at her hands they began to glow a bright white. She saw her hands reaching for B'Elanna's injured back and watched, fascinated, as the light shot out from her hands and entered the wound. In bewildered awe, Seven watched as the wound rapidly closed itself off and the blood surrounding B'Elanna began to seep back into her body. It looked almost as if she was watching it in reverse.

Slowly the light began to fade and B'Elanna's eyes slowly opened. "What happened Seven?" B'Elanna asked, touching the place where she had been stabbed.

"B'Elanna!" Seven cried as she threw herself at the older woman, finally letting her tears spill.

B'Elanna wrapped her arms tightly around Seven, letting her cry. "Everything's going to be okay Seven, I'm fine now," she said, trying to comfort her.

"B'Elanna, are you okay?" Naomi asked, still in shock over what happened.

"I'm fine Naomi, thanks to Seven," B'Elanna said pulling Naomi down and hugging her as well.

The people that hadn't run off as the light exploded out of Seven watched the women hugging each other on the ground. There wasn't a single doubt in any of their minds that today they had witnessed a miracle. It was something that would be talked about for a long time to come.

As the three women broke apart, B'Elanna was the first one to speak. "We should get out of here," she said, standing up and pulling Seven and Naomi to their feet.

Seven began to feel dizzy as soon as she stood up, almost collapsing to the floor again.

"What's the matter Seven?" B'Elanna asked getting worried.

"I am tired B'Elanna, doing that has depleted most of my energy."

"We have to get you to bed," B'Elanna said as she lifted Seven into her arms and carried her out of the restaurant.

Seven was asleep by the time B'Elanna got her back to their room. Just how much of her own reserves she had expended to save B'Elanna was begin to worry the other two women. Seven was proving to be the kind of person that would give help to anyone that needed it, even at the cost of her own health.

"Maybe it won't be like this the next time," Naomi said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Seven said that she had to make the choice between healing and protecting right?" Naomi asked.

B'Elanna nodded, starting to see where Naomi was going.

"What if she's tired because she made the choice, and this was the final stage of the transformation?"

"I hope so Naomi," B'Elanna said, still concerned. "In either case though, we have to get out of here as soon as we can. Voyager no doubt detected the energy Seven let loose and is probably going to investigate. We have to leave by tomorrow afternoon at the latest if we want to avoid them."

"Can we be ready that soon?" Naomi asked.

"If we go to sleep now, and get an early start tomorrow we should be able to manage," B'Elanna said, putting Seven down on the bed and sliding in next to her.

"Wake me up if Seven gets up before me," Naomi said as she lay down on her own bed.

"Captain," an alarmed Ensign Kim announced. "I've just detected a massive energy burst originating from the space station. It was enough power to destroy everything within a 25 kilometer radius."

"What could be capable of generating that much power?" Janeway asked.

"That much energy could only be generated by a wormhole," Tuvok informed the captain.

"While Chakotay is retrieving the equipment that we need, I'll head a second away team to discover the cause of the energy blast."

"Understood Captain."

"I guess I'm going to need my rest for this one," Janeway said, standing up. "Mr. Kim, you have the bridge."

"Yes Captain," Kim said as he sat down in the captain's chair and watched as Janeway left the bridge.

"_In just a few days B'Elanna, Seven, and Naomi will be back on Voyager,"_ Kim thought happily. _"After they see everything we have done to welcome them back they can't possibly stay mad at us."_ he mused confidently.

"Tom, is everything ready for the welcome home party?" Kim asked.

"Everything's set, all that's left to do is to wait for the girls," he said grinning. "If everything works out, I think things should get back to normal soon."

"Let's not rush things Tom, maybe we should wait until they're settled. We might drive B'Elanna and Seven away if we push too hard."

"How long do you think we should wait?" Paris asked.

"They'll probably be most relaxed at the party, we can ask them to dance and see how it goes from there."

"Works for me," Paris said smiling.

Seven woke up feeling completely energized and refreshed. As she tried to sit up she felt a now familiar arm holding her in place.

"B'Elanna," Seven said smiling. "It is time to wake up."

B'Elanna responded by mumbling and wrapping her arm tighter around Seven.

Seven laughed softly before getting an idea. She twisted around until she was facing B'Elanna and started kissing her lips very softly.

B'Elanna woke to the feeling of soft lips pressed against her own. When she opened her eyes she looked into a pair of bright blue eyes. B'Elanna placed her hand gently behind Seven's neck and pulled her in for a deeper kiss. When their lips parted, B'Elanna was smiling as well. "You know I could get used to waking up like this."

"When you get used to it, I will simply have to find another way to wake you up," Seven said smirking.

"Well it looks like you're feeling better," Naomi said waking up as well.

"Yes I am, thank you Naomi," Seven said, smiling brightly.

"We still have to fix the other ship and get the parts for ours," B'Elanna said as she realized that they only had a few hours left. "You and Naomi gather up all the parts that we need, and I'll get the other ship fixed."

The three women got ready quickly and had a light breakfast before they made their way to the hangar. Time was running out, and they had to be ready to leave soon. Eventually Voyager would figure out where the energy discharge came from, and that would lead them right to the three hybrids.

"Chakotay, you and your team will get the scanner, and my team will try to find out what we can about that energy surge. When you have the device, beam it to the ship and join up with us again. If we can find out what this power source is and how it works, it could cut years off our journey," Janeway said excitedly.

"Yes Captain and I think I understand what you meant about B'Elanna and Seven. They could probably figure out this power source faster than any of us," Chakotay said as he stepped on to the transporter pad.

"You all have your assignments," Janeway said, addressing the two away teams. "I want this done as quickly as possible, so Seven and B'Elanna don't find out what's happening." Janeway faced the transporter chief. "Energize."

Janeway felt a tingle as the transporter began to disassemble her molecules and, before she knew it, she was on the space station. As she looked around the market place she couldn't help but think how she would have loved to take Seven here. _"After I get Seven back there should be plenty of time for us to explore the station,"_ Janeway thought to herself. _"After all it was always pretty easy to get her to do what I wanted."_

"Captain, I have detected traces of the energy surge coming from that establishment," Tuvok said pointing in the direction of the restaurant Seven, B'Elanna and Naomi had visited the previous night.

"Alright, I guess that's the place to start," Janeway said as she started to walk towards the restaurant.

When Janeway and her away team stepped into the restaurant they were shocked. It looked like the place had literally been torn apart. There was blood, broken tables and garbage strewn across the floor.

"What happened in here?" Janeway asked one of the men trying to fix a table.

"I'm not really sure," he said. "The boss told me there was a huge fight last night, and everything was trashed.

"Captain," Tuvok interrupted. "I am detecting faint traces of Klingon DNA in the area."

"What?" Janeway asked shocked. "B'Elanna's?"

Tuvok looked down at his tri corder, examining the DNA structure. "It is confirmed Captain, half human, half Klingon DNA. It could only be B'Elanna."

"They shouldn't be out yet, we have to find Carkonas," Janeway said getting worried.

Janeway tapped her comm. badge. "Janeway to the bridge, I want you to track down Carkonas. I have a few questions to ask him," Janeway ground out.

"Yes Captain," Kim said over the comm. badge, closing the link.

"Alright everyone," Janeway addressed the away team. "The hybrids are assumed to no longer be in custody, we have to find them before they leave this space station."

Janeway then looked around the restaurant until she found a man that looked to be in charge. "Excuse me," she said calling him over. "We are looking for two women and a girl. We believe that they were here last night."

"There were many people here last night," the owner said distracted. "You will have to be more specific."

"The first one was a woman with dark hair and facial ridges, about this tall," Janeway said raising her hand.

"Oh yes, that one," the owner said, remembering. "She was accompanied by a beauty with golden hair and a child with horn's growing out of her forehead."

"Yes, that was them," Janeway said, happy that she had found a lead so quickly. "What can you tell me about them?"

"The dark one sure as hell knew how to fight," he said. "She tore up this place and walked right through some of toughest guys I've ever seen. Hell, she only got hurt when one of them snuck up behind her."

"What do you mean?" Janeway asked, confused. "Is she alright? What about the other two women?"

"No one's really sure what happened, some guys came in and started giving them trouble. The dark one tried to fight back, and for a while it looked like she was going to win. Then one of them snuck up behind her and stabbed her in the back. The beauty screamed and ran over to her. That was when it got weird. Pure white light poured out of her, it blinded everyone here. When we were able to see again the beauty had collapsed, and the dark one was completely healed. The thugs ran off and the women you're looking for left right after that."

"Captain," the voice of Chakotay sounded over Janeway's comm. badge. "We have the scanner."

"Good, transport it to Voyager and get your team here on the double."

"Yes Captain," Chakotay said as the link terminated.

"Do you have any idea where they could have gone?" Janeway asked the owner.

"Sorry not a clue," the owner said as he walked away.

"Captain if I may make a suggestion," Tuvok said. "They will undoubtedly be looking for a way to leave the space station. Since they do not have anything to trade, they will most likely trade labor for a ship, and due to time constraints they will find the cheapest space worthy vessel."

"Brilliant Tuvok," Janeway said commending her security officer. "All we have to do is search for the cheapest ship dealer on the station."

"Correct Captain," Tuvok confirmed.

"We have to find Seven. What ever she did must be related to the power source we're looking for."

Just as Janeway finished her speech, Chakotay and his team materialized in the restaurant.

"Chakotay, the hybrids are not in Socadan custody. They're somewhere on the station and are most likely tracking down a ship. What's the cheapest place to trade for a ship?"

Chakotay, having researched the space station before they docked, knew just about everything there was to know about it. So it only took him a few seconds to narrow down the list.

"Quazo's ship yard," he said triumphantly. "It's the closest to the restaurant and the only one that would trade parts for labor. They have to be there."

Janeway's badge chirped again. "Captain I have some bad news," Kim said.

"What is it Ensign?" Janeway said, not liking where this was going.

"Carkonas has left the space station. We have no way of contacting him."

"What about the workers on Voyager? They probably know where he went."

"I already looked into that Captain, it turns out they were hired locally. They know even less than we do."

"Janeway out," she said as she slapped her comm. badge. All of her careful planning was falling apart. Carkonas was gone, and he was the only one that could tell them what was going on. Without him they would not be able to control the hybrids as completely as she had hoped.

"Chakotay call star base security, and have them meet us at Quazo's ship yard."

B'Elanna had just finished working on the last ship, and Seven and Naomi had completed loading up their ship.

"You are more than welcomed to finish repairing your ship here," Quazo said as he gave them the deed to the ship with a friendly smile.

"Thanks Quazo, but we have to leave as soon as possible. The ship is space worthy, and we can repair it pretty much anywhere," B'Elanna smiled at the ship yard owner.

"I really want to thank you. If you hadn't come along and fixed those ships I probably wouldn't have been able to pay the rent this month."

"Don't worry about it. We were glad we could help."

"Well, if you get away from whatever is chasing you, come back and visit," Quazo said happily.

"We may just take you up on that," B'Elanna said as she made her way to her ship. "Voyager will have to give up on us eventually, and continue heading back to the alpha quadrant."

Naomi and Seven stepped out of the ship, as they both wanted to say goodbye to the kind alien.

"Stop right there," a familiar voice shouted. "You are not going anywhere."

The three hybrids turned around quickly to see Janeway, Chakotay, and Tuvok. They were followed by some Voyager security officers, and a large group of aliens that were presumably the security on the star base.

B'Elanna almost screamed in frustration, they were so close to being free. If only she had finished faster they wouldn't be stuck in this situation.

"What the hell do you want, Janeway?" B'Elanna snarled.

To Be Continued...


	13. Return to the Lion's Den

Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal

Part Thirteen

"What the hell do you want Janeway?" B'Elanna snarled.

"Why didn't you tell us the Socadan released you?" Janeway demanded.

"It isn't any of your goddamn business. You tried to sell us into slavery."

"Watch your tone Torres or you may find yourself in the brig as soon as we get back to Voyager." Janeway threatened.

"What make you think that we would ever go back?" B'Elanna was seething at the audacity of the older woman.

"It is really quite simple," Janeway said smugly. "Naomi Wildman is underage. Her legal guardian is Samantha Wildman and she wants her back on Voyager. I can't force you to return but I can force Naomi to, and 'ask' you and Seven to join her."

"I won't let you hurt Naomi or Seven ever again," B'Elanna said trying to control her rage.

"Speaking of Seven and Naomi, where are they?" Janeway asked with a look of smug satisfaction on her face.

Janeway knew she had won, and by the look in B'Elanna's eyes she realized that B'Elanna wasn't able to figure a way out of it.

Seven slowly descended from the ship, holding Naomi's hand. "We are right here Captain Janeway," she said.

Janeway quickly turned her head, recognizing the familiar voice. She looked up to see a much younger, shorter and, she had to admit, sexier Seven walk up to B'Elanna.

"What happened to you Seven?" Janeway asked half shocked, half leering.

"This is one of the many things that are a direct result of you trading us to the Socadan." Seven said, gesturing to her body.

"Why is it just you? I thought they wanted all three of you," Janeway said, wanting answers.

"They would only experiment on B'Elanna and Naomi if I died during our imprisonment," Seven said, now openly glaring at the woman she used to consider her mentor.

"Don't get so upset Seven," Janeway admonished as if she were talking to a child. "I have always done what was necessary to ensure the survival of my crew. I admit a few sacrifices had to be made along the way but it was all for the good of Voyager."

"What about what you planned to do to me? Was that sacrifice for the good of Voyager?" Seven waited a few moments for the response that never came. "You disgust me," Seven said in disdain.

Janeway actually flinched at Seven's comment. She had known that it would be a hard to convince them to come back but she hadn't envisaged it being this difficult. It was time to play her trump card, and hope things worked out further down the line.

"I will make this simple for you." Janeway said, glaring as well. "The three of you will willingly return to Voyager or I will force Naomi to return on her own, while the two of you spend a couple of years in the Kisoden prison for kidnapping."

"What about everything that you did to us?" B'Elanna asked the older woman accusingly.

"You don't have any proof Torres. I, on the other hand, caught you red-handed, trying to flee with a minor."

B'Elanna and Seven both paled at this. A prison sentence didn't frighten them; they could easily survive with B'Elanna's strength and warrior skills, not to mention Seven's powers which seemed to be increasing hourly. Naomi was a completely different story though. They simply could not leave her to fend for herself with these monsters they used to call friends.

A silent decision seemed to pass between the two women. They had to go back to Voyager, for Naomi's sake.

"You win Captain Janeway," Seven said sadly. "We will return to Voyager, until Naomi is old enough to make her own decision."

"I am glad that you see things the right way," Janeway said, almost jumping for joy. "Gather your things, we'll be leaving immediately."

"That will not be possible Captain. We have just acquired our own ship, we will need to fly it to Voyager," Seven said.

"Is that it?" Janeway inquired, pointing to the ship in front of her.

"Yes."

To Janeway it looked like a pile of junk, just barely holding itself together. _"They sure as hell won't be able to run off with that. I might as well give Seven a show of good faith and let them keep the thing,"_ she thought to herself. "Alright you can bring it to Voyager's shuttle bay. I expect the three of you to be onboard in less than an hour," Janeway said as she and her security officers, as well as the Kisoden officers, left the hangar.

As soon as they were gone B'Elanna allowed her panic to show. "What are we going to do? The ship is nowhere near ready to pose a threat to Voyager, there's no way we can even outrun them."

"We have to accept it B'Elanna, for the time being Janeway has won. We must do what she says. Returning to Voyager is our only option," Seven said sadly.

"It won't have to be for too long," Naomi said, trying to cheer them up. "I only have to stay until I am legally an adult. After that we can leave and they won't be able to do anything about it. It's only for a few years."

"We will manage," Seven said resolutely.

The other two women nodded as they boarded their ship and started the trip to Voyager.

"_This human body is amazing," _the doctor said to himself. _"No more mobile emitter, nobody being able to turn me off. It was all worth it, and B'Elanna, Seven and Naomi will get over it eventually."_ The doctor thought, imagining what it would be like to feel his hands on Seven again.

He would eventually tell her that it was his plan all along. She would be so impressed about how well thought out it was. He had started by introducing nanoprobes into the inoculations he was giving the crew to make them do what he wanted. He kept most of the senior officers under this influence just long enough for the trade to be made. The Captain would never find out that she was kept under the longest. The doctor just knew that Seven would be so amazed by what he had been able to do, she would agree to go out with him in a second.

"Janeway to the doctor," chirped his badge.

He let out a sigh as he tapped his badge. Janeway had been an absolute pain since Seven left. "Yes Captain," he answered.

"We just found the hybrids on Kisoden. They have agreed to return to Voyager within the hour. When they get back I want you to do a complete medical exam on Seven. She has changed quite a bit over the past few days."

"What do you mean Captain?" The doctor asked, getting worried. He did not want Seven to be hurt. He'd practically made Seven, and he would be damned if anyone was going to tamper with his creation.

"She seems healthy but... It will all make sense when you see her, just be ready. Janeway out," she said, closing the comm. link.

The doctor sighed with relief, it wasn't life threatening so he was sure that he could easily fix it. As he gathered up his instruments, he fantasized about what he and Seven were going to do once she got back.

The three hybrids arrived in Voyager's shuttle bay with a good ten minutes to spare. The trip had taken a little longer than they had originally planned. They knew that Voyager would be monitoring their movements closely after they returned, so they needed a way to speak without being overheard. They outfitted a special component into the core of their new ship. If the ship was scanned it would send out an interference signal. It would look like the material that the ship was constructed from was built specifically to withstand scanning.

"Alright, I still have my comm. badge. If Janeway wants to talk to us she should be able to easily enough."

"It feels so weird to be back here. I didn't think that they ever wanted us to come back," Naomi said as she looked around the shuttle bay.

"What should we do now?" Seven asked.

"Someone should be coming down to meet us," B'Elanna said.

Almost as soon as those words left B'Elanna's mouth, the door to the shuttle bay opened. Janeway walked in followed by the Doctor, Tuvok, Samantha Wildman and Chakotay.

When Samantha saw Naomi she smiled and ran towards her. "Naomi I missed you so much," she said happily.

Naomi gave her mother a frightened look and quickly moved closer to Seven, burying her face in Seven's midriff. Seven protectively put her hands on Naomi's shoulders. Fortified by this, Naomi turned around and faced her mother.

"Please don't touch me," she said in an angry voice.

"Naomi...? What...? I thought you would be happy to see me," Samantha said, a little hurt.

"I never wanted to see you again. You got rid of me the first chance you got."

"It was a mistake Naomi, and we'll discus it at home." Samantha said as she tried to grab Naomi, growing angry herself.

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Naomi said letting a little bit of her fear show. "I don't trust you or anyone else on Voyager."

Samantha was shocked. She just stood there looking at the fear in her daughter's eyes. She knew that she'd hurt her daughter that day, but it all seemed like a hazy dream. It hadn't seemed real until now, she'd thought that all she would have to do was talk to Naomi and everything would just work itself out.

"Naomi, I'm sorry," was the only thing that Samantha was able to say.

"Well, if you're sorry then I guess everything is just going to magically work itself out," B'Elanna said sarcastically.

"I'm going to stay with B'Elanna and Seven," Naomi said, not looking at her mother.

Samantha nodded dumbly and walked out of the room, her body weighed down by the shame and pain she felt.

Janeway, Tuvok and Chakotay watched the exchange between the four women. What they wanted to do had just grown more difficult. They needed to know what had happened to Seven and if B'Elanna and Naomi were affected.

"Seven, we need to have the doctor look you over," Janeway said, trying to get her original plan back in motion.

Seven just looked at her with contempt in her eyes and said, "No."

"What?" Janeway asked, feeling her plans begin to fall apart.

"I am not a member of your crew or Starfleet. I can not be ordered to undergo any medical procedures."

"If that's what you want Seven. We can discuss it later." Janeway said, knowing that forcing the issue now would be futile.

"If you will excuse us Janeway, we are going to get some rest," B'Elanna said as she, Seven and Naomi started to leave the shuttle bay.

"Hold on Torres," Janeway said coldly. "You are an officer of this ship, and I am your Captain. You will address me as such."

"That's where you're wrong Janeway. I was never a member of Starfleet, I was Maquis, until they betrayed me. " B'Elanna said as she removed the pips from her collar and threw them to the ground. "I quit."

The senior officers were too shocked by B'Elanna's announcement to do anything but stare dumbly as the hybrids exited the cargo bay.

Walking through the corridors on the way to her quarters, B'Elanna noticed the stares of the crew. Some would not meet their eyes, others would quickly move out of the way to avoid her icy glare, but mostly they were looking Seven up and down.

Seven had also noticed the stares, and it bothered her. It was the same way the men at the restaurant had looked at her before they attacked B'Elanna. She moved closer to B'Elanna and relaxed a little as the older woman wrapped her arm around her waist.

When they finally entered B'Elanna's quarters Seven let out a sigh of relief. At B'Elanna's questioning glance she answered. "I did not like the way they were looking at me," she said as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"How are we going to deal with the rest of them?" Naomi asked. "Some of them acted like nothing even happened."

"We have to stay together, and assume that they are going to do something like this again, so the next time we won't be surprised," B'Elanna said with contempt. "From now on none of us should leave these quarters on our own."

"I concur. We will be at our weakest when we are alone. That is when they will try to interrogate us," Seven said.

After some more discussion on the best way to handle the Voyager crew the three hybrids sat down on the sofa to get some rest. Just when B'Elanna was about to fall asleep she was roused by the chirp of her comm. badge.

"Janeway to Torres."

"Torres here."

"We are having a welcome home party for you in the mess hall at 1900 hours. I expect you and Seven to be there."

"You can't order us to do anything, we're not part of your crew anymore Janeway."

"If you come to the party, I won't give you any problems about Naomi Wildman living with you," Janeway offered.

"Fine, but you better not be lying," B'Elanna said as she terminated the link, and nudged Seven awake.

"What is it B'Elanna," Seven said, sleepily moving closer to her lover.

"Janeway wants us to go to a welcome home party," B'Elanna said choosing her words carefully.

"You did not have to wake me up to inform me of your refusal." Seven said yawning.

"Actually I said yes," B'Elanna said quietly.

"EXPLAIN" Seven said, now completely awake.

"Calm down Seven, Janeway said that she wouldn't give us any trouble about Naomi staying with us if we went."

"When are we supposed to attend?"

"She said it was starting at 1900 hours."

"I do not believe that Naomi should attend, it will be difficult for her to deal with her mother now."

"I think you're right, she's still in shock about what her mother did. She needs some time before she'll be ready to deal with it."

"Do you think I should change my clothing?" Seven asked as she looked at her dress.

"Not a chance," B'Elanna said, leaning down and kissing Seven. "I like the way you look now, it's a huge improvement from the bio-suits you usually wear."

"Thank you," Seven said smiling. "How much time do we have before the part starts?"

"We have about an hour, plenty of time to write Naomi a note and get ready."

To Be Continued...


	14. The Party from Hell

Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal

Part Fourteen

Seven and B'Elanna made their way to the mess hall, any of the crew they encountered moving out of their way quickly. B'Elanna's glare let them know that there was going to be trouble.

Seven and B'Elanna entered the mess hall just as the party was starting. The majority of the crew still hadn't arrived. Most of the senior staff was talking quietly amongst themselves, not having noticed their entrance.

The mess hall was decorated with multicolored balloons and streamers. A large banner was hung against the back wall that read "Welcome Back!" Tables were placed off to side containing finger foods and drinks.

B'Elanna noticed that both Harry and Tom were carrying large bouquets of flowers. This was not the strangest part however. The doctor was moving around the mess hall freely, without the aid of his mobile emitter. "How are you doing that?" B'Elanna questioned the doctor.

The rest of the crew turned around quickly, noticing the arrival of the guests of honor.

"I thought you would never ask," the doctor said smiling. "The Socadan gave me the technology to create a human body. I can now do everything that a normal person can."

"Why would the Socadan just give you this technology?" Seven asked, suspicion growing in her mind.

"When we reached the star base I was able to speak with some of them," the doctor lied smoothly. "They were fascinated by my holo-matrix. They said it was the most complex they had ever seen. They wanted to know what would happen if an artificial life form were given an organic body."

"This was for the good of Voyager?" Seven asked the captain as she pointed to the doctor angrily. "You sold us out to the Socadan so that this thing would have an organic body?" Seven's disgust was apparent.

"That wasn't all they gave us," Janeway responded defensively. "They improved all of Voyager's systems. Tactical, propulsion, engineering, weapons and shields have all been improved. We can make it back to Earth in a fraction of the time, and it is going to be much safer."

"Safer for whom?" B'Elanna asked. "Would you let a bunch of aliens do god knows what to you so that Voyager could get to Earth a little sooner?"

"Of course I would," Janeway lied, trying to defend herself. "I would do it for any member of my crew."

B'Elanna was disgusted by the lies that were coming out of the older woman's mouth. She could practically smell the deceit in her words. "You are lying."

"How can you say that after all that I have done for the both of you?" Janeway said, beginning to realize how difficult it would be to regain their trust.

"When you severed me from the Borg you told me that I was free. That I would be able to make my own decisions, that I was an individual. Yet at every opportunity you have taken away my right to choose. I do not trust you, any of you." Seven said as her gaze swept over the mess hall.

"No matter what happens now, we're always going to be watching you. The next time you try something like this we'll be ready." B'Elanna said as she glared at the senior officers.

"Let's go Seven," B'Elanna said as she took Seven's hand, pulled her to a quite corner of the mess hall, and sat down in one of the chairs.

The senior officers watched B'Elanna lead Seven away. They continued to watch as Seven sat down in B'Elanna's lap and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Whatever romantic plans anyone had had for the two women were literally blown out of the water. They could only stare in open-mouthed shock at the two former enemies.

B'Elanna, noticing the senior staff staring at them, shot them all an icy glare. "We only came to this 'celebration' because it was the only way that Janeway would let Naomi stay with us, so quit staring at us and finish your party."

Seven glared at them as well as she leaned into B'Elanna.

The senior staff shook off their astonishment and started their conversations again.

"What are we going to do now?" Harry asked Tom. "I never saw this coming."

"You're making too much out of this Harry," Tom said as he tried to calm his friend. "They were held captive and experimented on by a bunch of aliens. They probably just set aside their differences to deal with that. There's no way that the two of them are going to stay together," he added confidently.

"Are you sure about that Tom?" Harry asked getting worried. "I don't want to hurt them anymore than we already have."

"We're doing them a favor. Those two just aren't right for each other. If we step in now maybe they won't completely destroy the friendship they've started."

Harry reluctantly agreed and followed Tom through the now full mess hall. By the time the two men had reached the couple, Seven was so relaxed she looked like she was almost asleep. She was leaning against B'Elanna, her head resting on the older woman's shoulder with her eyes closed. B'Elanna had her arms wrapped around Seven and was smiling down at her warmly.

"Hi there you two," Tom said, plastering a smile on his face. "We were wondering if the two of you would like to dance?" he said as he looked Seven up and down.

As Tom finished speaking both he and Harry proffered their bouquets to the two women.

Before B'Elanna could shout at Tom for leering at her girlfriend, Seven lazily opened her eyes and uttered, "No." She then closed her eyes and snuggled closer to B'Elanna.

"You may keep those, we have no need for dead plant matter," Seven added loudly enough for the rest of the crowd to here.

For the second time that night Tom was completely flabbergasted. Seven had said no to him. No woman had ever said no to him.

"What do you mean no?" Tom asked, confused. His ego simply would not let him believe that he was being turned down.

"I do not wish to dance with you," Seven said, her eyes still closed. "B'Elanna is the only one that is allowed to do that."

"What about you, B'Elanna?" Harry asked.

"I don't want anything to do with either of you," B'Elanna said. "I don't forgive or forget when people betray me."

"Come on B'Elanna, it can't have been that bad," Tom said, trying to down play what happened. "We've all been on tough away missions before."

"This was not an away mission, you idiot. You all turned your backs on us and worse, not one of you stood up for us when we needed you the most. After everything that we have done for Voyager you practically sold us into slavery." B'Elanna shouted, bringing the party to a stand still.

"They can not control us like this forever, B'Elanna," Seven said trying to soothe her. "Soon Naomi will be of age and they will have no more power over us."

Just as Seven finished speaking Janeway stormed up to them. "What the hell is going on here? This is supposed to be a party. The next one of you to start arguing will spend the rest of the night in the brig." Janeway threatened.

"It was nothing Captain," Tom said as the gears in his head began to turn. "Harry and I were just asking these two lovely ladies for a dance," he smiled.

"_This is perfect," _Janeway thought. _"All I have to do is let Tom get in between Seven and B'Elanna. B'Elanna will get mad and it will frighten Seven. Then Seven will come running to me to make things better." _She thought, conveniently dismissing what she had tried to do to Seven before she left.

"I think that is a wonderful idea," Janeway said with an insincere smile on her face. "Computer, start music."

Tom smiled smugly at the opening strains of a slow jazz number and offered his hand to Seven. "Well I guess since none of us want to end up in the brig we better start dancing."

Harry and Tom put their flowers down on the table and led the two women onto the dance floor.

"If you try anything Paris, I'll make you regret it." B'Elanna threatened.

"Relax, I'll be a perfect gentlemen," Paris said, ignoring the threat.

Paris escorted Seven to the dance floor while Kim finally convinced B'Elanna to dance. Even though it was only to make sure that Seven was okay.

As the dancing progressed it became clear why Paris liked to spend his time creating holograms. He had no rhythm to speak of. He spent half the time hitting on Seven and the other half stepping on her toes. It soon became evident that he was failing on both accounts.

When the song finally ended, much to Seven's relief, Tom started to ask her for a second dance. "You were great Seven, may I have-"

"Mind if I cut in?" B'Elanna interrupted, bumping Paris out of the way.

"I would like that very much," Seven smiled at her love.

"Hey!" Paris exclaimed. "We were dancing."

"Is that what you call it?" B'Elanna smirked.

A new song started and B'Elanna wrapped her arms around Seven and kissed her lightly on the forehead. The rest of the world faded away as the two women danced. Nothing else seemed to exist to them, not the music, not Paris and Kim trying to get their attention in the background, and not Janeway glaring at the couple.

As the song finally came to an end the spell was broken by an insistent tapping on B'Elanna's shoulder. She gave Seven a soft kiss before finally turning around to face the person behind her.

"Do you mind if I cut in?" Paris asked, throwing B'Elanna's words back at her.

"Very much so Tom," B'Elanna said as she turned around to look at Seven again.

"I was wondering if I could have the next dance?" Harry asked as he stepped up beside Seven.

"I really must insist," Paris said as he tried to push B'Elanna out of the way.

Both Seven and B'Elanna smiled at each other before saying at the same time. "If you insist." The couple then walked off the dance floor, leaving behind two very embarrassed senior officers.

B'Elanna moved back to her original seat and pulled Seven back into her lap. So far the party from hell was going just as they had expected it to. It was as if the crew didn't even care that they were back. Most of the crew in attendance at the party only seemed to be there for the food and drink. Only Paris, Kim and Janeway had actually spoken to them, but that didn't really count as their choice of conversation – threats or unwelcome advances - was not exactly appreciated.

"What the hell was that about?" Janeway asked as she walked up to them. "You completely embarrassed Tom and Harry."

"I do not see how that is any of your business," Seven told the Captain.

"Watch your tone," Janeway said trying to threaten the two women again. "Is there a shortage of chairs?" she asked pointedly.

"Only a shortage of chairs as comfortable as this," Seven answered as she pulled B'Elanna's arms up and around her waist.

"Be that as it may, you are still officers of this ship," Janeway ground out. "As such you must conduct yourselves with a certain level of decorum."

"You just don't get it do you," B'Elanna said. "Seven was never a Starfleet officer, and I gave up my pips as soon as I got back on Voyager. We are pretty much civilians."

Janeway had no answer to B'Elanna's comments. Everything the Klingon said was true. Neither of them held a rank, or for that matter any obligations to Voyager. In short, she had no leverage over them. She had played her Naomi card too early and now there was nothing left for her to use to control them.

Janeway had only one option, a tactical retreat. She turned on her heel and left the two women alone.

"I though she was never going to leave," B'Elanna sighed in relief.

"Does this mean we may leave?" Seven asked.

"It has been a long day hasn't it?" B'Elanna said.

"I feel as if I will fall asleep here," Seven agreed.

Seven stood up from B'Elanna's lap and leaned into her as they made their way out of the mess hall.

To Be Continued...


	15. Threats and Ultimatums

Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal

Part Fifteen

The tension between the crew and the hybrids was still running high the morning after the disastrous welcome home party. Most of the crew had believed that party would be the quick fix they needed to make things right with their betrayed crewmates. In the end it had backfired. If anything the hybrids felt even angrier with the rest of the crew.

"Torres and Seven are late." Janeway said after waiting fifteen minutes in the conference room.

"I don't think that they're coming." Chakotay said, hoping that Janeway wouldn't kill the messenger.

"Janeway to Torres," Janeway said as she slapped her comm. badge in irritation.

"...Torres here," replied the sleepy voice of B'Elanna.

"The senior staff meeting started fifteen minutes ago." Janeway snapped. "Why aren't you here?"

"How many times do I have to tell you I quit before you get it through that thick head of yours?" B'Elanna asked, growing angry herself.

"Well I just don't accept that!" Janeway shouted. "I want you and Seven here on the double."

"Seven and I aren't taking orders from you anymore." B'Elanna replied as she closed the link.

"I want those two working again." Janeway said in frustration. "Isn't there anything that we can do?"

"Perhaps if we were to take away some of the privileges accorded the crew of Voyager it would act as an incentive to return to duty." Tuvok offered.

"That could work." Janeway agreed. "From now on Seven and B'Elanna will no longer have replicator rations, all of their command codes will be revoked and they no longer have use of their quarters." Janeway said maliciously.

"Captain, do you think that this is the best way to handle this?" Neelix asked. "What we have done to them was horrible. I don't think that taking their home from them will make it any easier for them to forgive us."

"Irregardless of the new technology we have we are a long way from the alpha quadrant Neelix. Everyone on this ship needs to do their fair share in order for us to make it home." Janeway said choosing her words carefully.

Neelix nodded, knowing that trying to reason with the captain in this mood was hopeless.

"Doc, have you finished with the inoculations yet? You still haven't even told us what they were for?" Harry asked.

"Yes, they're finished now." The doctor said looking a little hot under the collar. Now that he was human he was finding it harder to lie convincingly. "It was just a routine flu vaccination."

"We all got inoculated at least three times in the last week." Tom thought out loud. "It doesn't sound like any routine vaccination I've ever heard of."

"Now that you mention it, it does seem strange." Chakotay agreed. "Doctor, I want a formal report on the vaccinations given us."

"Is that really necessary?" The doctor asked in a calm voice that belied his internal panic. "I have more pressing concerns to deal with now that I am human."

"You have until tomorrow morning Doctor. It's only a simple report. It should only take a couple of hours." Tom said, not understanding why the doctor had such a big problem with it.

"Alright," the Doctor relented, knowing that he had no way out of this.

"Tuvok please inform the 'civilians' that they must leave the Chief Engineer's quarters no later than noon today." Janeway said as she brought the meeting to a close.

Tuvok left the conference room and gathered a few of his security officers. If the hybrids were going to put up a fight he would be ready.

Tuvok and his five officers had their phasers drawn when they reached B'Elanna's quarters. Tuvok rang the entry chime and waited patiently for an answer.

After a few moments, B'Elanna opened the door and looked at the security officers with a guarded expression.

"What do you want?" B'Elanna said, eyeing the drawn phasers.

"What is going on?" Seven asked as she came to the door as well.

"We are here to inform you that as you are no longer Starfleet officers you no longer have replicator rations, your command codes have been revoked and you no longer have quarters aboard Voyager You have until noon to vacate." Tuvok said calmly.

"What?" B'Elanna asked in shock.

"Since you are no longer productive crewmen aboard Voyager you will receive none of the benefits." Tuvok said as he and his team left.

"It does not matter B'Elanna." Seven said in a comforting tone. "We still have the ship. Once it is completed we may live there."

"You're right Seven." B'Elanna said, giving her a kiss. "In fact it will give us the perfect excuse to spend our extra time working on our ship."

'_What the hell am I going to do?' _the Doctor thought to himself. _'How do I explain the inoculations?'_

The Doctor had been pacing around sick bay for the past hour with the same thoughts running through his head.

'_If I can just alter the report enough to take the suspicion away from me I might be able to get past this. After I give Chakotay the report it will be looked over and forgotten. No one will even bring it up again.' _

The doctor hoped that his desperate plan would work. He quickly set to work creating a report that contained enough components to give the desired side effects and still provide a vaccination for the flu.

Seven, B'Elanna and Naomi had finished transporting all of B'Elanna's personal things into the shuttle bay and aboard their ship. All that was left to do to complete repairs was replace all the damaged components of the ship with the replacements parts they had acquired from the space station.

"It's going to take a lot of work, but I think that we can get it done in a few days." B'Elanna said optimistically.

"I believe you are correct B'Elanna. The only major repair that needs to be completed is replacing the damaged sections of the hull, and those we can replicate."

"I don't know about that Seven." B'Elanna said worriedly. "Janeway took away our replicator rations. I don't think that it's likely that she'll give them back to us any time soon."

"Have you looked in the sub-space pocket?" Seven asked in a teasing voice.

"No. But by the look on your face there's probably something good in there." B'Elanna said as the hybrids walked into the ship.

When they entered Seven flicked the switch for the sub-space pocket and the hidden sections of the ship blinked into existence.

"Look at this." Seven said as she pointed to a device in the far left corner.

B'Elanna approached the device and carefully began to examine it, a smile slowly spreading across her features.

"It's an industrial replicator!" B'Elanna nearly jumped for joy.

"With it we can disassemble all of the parts we salvaged from the space station and replicate them to the specifications for the ship." Seven said happily.

"We'll be finished in no time." B'Elanna said as she hugged Seven and spun her around.

"Captain something very strange just happened." Harry said as he examined the new sensors.

"What is it?" Janeway asked curiously.

"The hybrids were in the shuttle bay one minute, the next they just disappeared." Harry said, clearly confused.

"Tuvok get a security team together. I want to know-" Janeway began to say.

"Wait a minute Captain." Harry interrupted. "They just re-appeared again."

"Perhaps they have some type of cloaking device aboard their ship." Tuvok said as he brought up the readings on his own console.

"Tom, Harry, go check it out." Janeway ordered. "But don't let them know what you're up to."

"On our way," Tom said for both of them. _'This is going to be the perfect time to ask Seven out again. She probably misunderstood me at the party,' _Tom thought.

'_I know that B'Elanna is going to say yes this time.' _Harry thought confidently. _'I just have to let her know that I'm interested.'_

As the two friends left the bridge they began to talk about how they were going to approach the women.

"The party didn't work as well as I thought it would." Harry conceded.

"I'm sure they like us, they just don't want to admit it." Tom said adamantly.

"Maybe if we can talk to them separately we'll have a better chance." Harry thought out loud.

"That's easier said than done. B'Elanna hasn't let Seven out of her sight from the moment that they came back to Voyager."

"It's still our best shot." Harry said as they walked into the shuttle bay.

As Tom and Harry looked around the shuttle bay they were shocked. They expected Seven and B'Elanna to be working on an old beat up shuttle, but what they saw was a sleek, very powerful looking craft. Sure, it still needed a lot of work but at the rate Seven and B'Elanna were going it wouldn't take too long.

"Is that the new ship?" Tom asked as he eyed the ship with a dreamy look.

"It is." Seven said as she looked up from the hull plating that she was attaching.

"That junk yard actually had something like this in it?" Harry asked in wonder.

"What are you doing here?" B'Elanna asked suspiciously as she moved closer to Seven and Naomi.

"We just wanted to see how you were doing." Harry said as he remembered that he was not supposed to tell them that they were spying.

"When do you think the ship is going to be ready?" Tom asked, still not taking his eyes off it. "I can't wait to take it for a spin."

"What are you talking about? What makes you think you're even going to be allowed to set foot in it?" B'Elanna asked, growing angry.

"We're eventually going to need it for an away mission, and I am the best pilot on the ship." Tom boasted.

"This ship is private property." Seven said as she hopped off the side. "The only people authorized to fly it are B'Elanna and my self."

Tom's face fell as he heard what Seven had to say. "That isn't fair!" Tom said in a whiny voice before he could stop himself.

"Life isn't fair." B'Elanna said with a smirk. "What did you really come here for?" she asked.

"We wanted to know if the three of you wanted to get some dinner." Tom said in what he thought was a sexy voice.

"Janeway took away all the replicator rations we'd saved up." B'Elanna said angrily.

"Dinner's on us." Harry intervened quickly.

Seven pulled B'Elanna aside. "Perhaps we should. It will take time to program the industrial replicator to create meals, and Naomi has not had anything to eat since breakfast."

"Alright," B'Elanna relented. "But I don't trust them. We'll have dinner, and come back here straight after."

Seven nodded her head in agreement as the pair turned to face Tom and Harry.

"Alright, we'll have dinner, but that's it." B'Elanna said as she led Seven and Naomi out of the shuttle bay.

Tom and Harry followed them happily. It wasn't all they wanted but it was at least a start.

In the mess hall a hush fell over the crew members still having dinner. They all felt guilty for what they'd done and they didn't know how to fix things. With the entry of the hybrids, all the guilt and shame over the conspiracy they had taken part in came rushing to the front of their minds.

Seven, B'Elanna and Naomi ignored the stares they were receiving as they made their way over to one of the empty tables. Tom and Harry quickly joined them, Harry sitting to the left of B'Elanna and Tom on Seven's right.

Seven began to feel uncomfortable at how close Tom was sitting beside her and called Naomi over. "Lieutenant, will you please change seats with Naomi?"

"There's a seat right over there for her." Tom said, dismissing Naomi.

"I would feel more comfortable with Naomi next to me." Seven tried to be tactful.

"Sure Seven, whatever makes you feel more comfortable." Tom said as he realized that upsetting Seven would not help him reach his goal. He got out of his seat and pushed it in for Naomi when she sat down.

B'Elanna was nowhere near as eloquent when she told Harry to give her some breathing room. "Get back before I throw you back."

"Sure B'Elanna." Harry said, trying to pass it off as a joke as he blushed in embarrassment.

"So what happened to you on the space station?" Tom asked. "How did your looks change so much? You don't look a day older than nineteen."

"I do not wish to discuss it Lieutenant." Seven said in a calm voice.

"It can't have been that bad Seven. You look great, and younger to boot." Tom said, not noticing the angry glare on B'Elanna's face.

"Don't talk about things you know nothing about." B'Elanna said angrily. "What Seven went through was horrible. It's a miracle that she's still alive."

"What would you like for dinner?" Neelix asked as he rushed over. "It's good to have you three back." Neelix added, trying to dissolve the tension in the room.

"That isn't what you said when you let them take us away." Naomi said as she looked at the man she'd once thought of as a father.

"It was a mistake Naomi. What can I do to make it up to you?" Neelix asked in a sad voice.

"That is the million dollar question, isn't it?" B'Elanna said with a snort. "What can you all do to make it up to us? And even if you could, what would be the point?"

"What we all did was wrong." Harry said, speaking for the crew. "We'll regret it for the rest of our lives."

"If you regret it as much as you claim, why are you still participating in this conspiracy?" Seven asked. "We have discussed it and have only been able to come to one conclusion: you need us to return to the Alpha Quadrant. Does this mean you wish to apologize because you regret what you have done or because you know that if we forgive you we will go back to work?" Seven asked.

Her questions were met with silence. Not even Neelix was able to refute Seven's claims.

"Let's get out of here." B'Elanna said as she stood up. "We can have dinner in the shuttle bay."

"Yeah," Naomi agreed. "I suddenly lost my appetite."

The hybrids left the mess hall without even a backward glance.

"Captain, things can't continue the way they are." Chakotay said. "Seven and B'Elanna won't even talk to anyone and, as it stands, they may never go back to work."

"I'm sure you're exaggerating things Commander. They may be very good at their jobs but they can be replaced." Janeway said in a bored tone. "Besides, how long can they last without food or a place to stay?"

"That's just it Captain. With all the different technologies on the ship, we need B'Elanna or we're the ones that are going to be the ones wondering what to do without food or a safe place to stay. She's the only one that can keep the ship running smoothly, and the one that can get it working the fastest after a battle. Carey tried to do a sensor scan yesterday and couldn't get anywhere. Seven is the same. Astrometrics was specifically upgraded for her. She's the only one that can tell us if we're going in the right direction and if we're going to run into any hostiles." Chakotay complained.

"Eventually they will give in Commander. We can not be the first to cave in." Janeway said sternly. "If they don't show up for tomorrow's staff meeting we'll go down to the shuttle bay and try to work something out." Janeway relented.

To Be Continued...


	16. B'Elanna's Vengence

Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal

Part Sixteen

An hour before the morning meeting was supposed to begin Janeway was pacing around her ready room. She'd had time to think the previous night and had come to the conclusion that B'Elanna and Seven would not comply with any of her orders but if she were to request something of them then they might feel obligated to agree.

"Janeway to Torres," Janeway said as she tapped her comm. badge. She would have much preferred to talk to Seven but the ex-Borg had not wanted a comm. badge when she had returned to Voyager.

"Torres here," B'Elanna responded with a sigh.

"B'Elanna, I would like you and Seven to attend the morning meeting." Janeway said, trying to use her diplomatic skills.

"I've already told you that we won't be taking any more of your orders." B'Elanna said annoyed.

"This isn't an order, it's a request." Janeway said quickly. "I would like to discuss the terms of your stay aboard Voyager."

"When?" B'Elanna asked.

"Today at the morning meeting," Janeway said.

"Alright, we'll be there." B'Elanna answered for herself and Seven as she closed the link.

"_Perfect," _the Doctor triumphantly exclaimed to himself as he looked over his report. It had taken him a while to do but it was almost foolproof. _"It would take a full molecular scan to figure this out." _the Doctor mused proudly. _"It's almost time for the morning meeting." _He grabbed the report and left his quarters.

As the Doctor made his way to the staff meeting he couldn't help but smile. After he handed in the report it would be the last anyone spoke of about the vaccinations and he could get back to enjoying his new found humanity.

As the door to the conference room opened the Doctor looked around to see that almost everyone else was already present. The only exceptions were Seven and B'Elanna, but that was to be expected.

"Captain, I have my report ready for you." The Doctor said as he handed out the data pads.

"That's going to have to wait Doctor. B'Elanna and Seven are coming to discuss the terms of their stay on Voyager." Janeway said as she set down the pad.

"Well that's a relief." The Doctor took his seat. "This place has been falling apart without those two." He said, referring to the disaster zone that was Engineering without B'Elanna supervising.

"Don't get your hopes up too soon." Chakotay advised. "We're only going to discuss it with them. We still don't know if they'll come back to work."

"I'm sure they'll understand when we sit down and talk to them." The Doctor said confidently.

"Don't be so sure." B'Elanna said as she and Seven entered the conference room.

"Seven." Janeway quickly stood and walked over to them.

"That's close enough." B'Elanna said as she noticed Seven's discomfort and stood in front of her protectively. "I haven't forgotten what you tried to do to Seven."

Janeway realized that this wasn't the best time to win Seven over and sat back down in her chair without another word.

B'Elanna and Seven sat down as far from Janeway as they could get.

"You wished to speak to us about the remainder of our time aboard Voyager. I suggest that you begin." Seven said as she held onto B'Elanna's hand.

"Yes, well, everyone aboard Voyager must do their equal share..." Janeway began.

"The two of us have done more for Voyager than the rest of you combined." B'Elanna interrupted with an annoyed snort.

"It is not only that." Seven said picking up where B'Elanna left off. "Even if we were to return to duty we could never trust you."

"We are all truly sorry for what we have done. You have to believe us when we say that something like this will never happen again." Chakotay said shamefully.

"What will happen the next time that you want a new technology?" Seven asked. "What will stop you from selling us for a second time?"

"It won't happen again, we promise." Harry said on behalf of the senior staff.

"And therein lies the problem. The only assurance we have that you will not do this again is your word, and we don't trust you." Seven said pointedly.

"Perhaps we can discuss this when everyone has calmed down." Tuvok volunteered.

"That's a good idea Tuvok." Janeway said with a sigh. "Why don't you give us a brief overview of your medical report, Doctor?"

"I would be glad to." The Doctor offered data pads to Seven and B'Elanna.

"Let's go Seven." B'Elanna said as she stood up.

"Wait B'Elanna, perhaps we should hear this report. We may still be susceptible to this illness." Seven said.

"Sure, why not?" B'Elanna sat down and looked over her copy of the data.

"Well, the data pads you're reading contain a list of your symptoms and the medication you have been given." The Doctor said, looking down at his pad. "This was a particularly resilient flu virus and many of you had to be given several inoculations."

"Your findings are suspicious, Doctor." Seven said as she reviewed the information. "B'Elanna and Naomi should have contracted this."

"What are you talking about?" The Doctor said, trying not to let his panic show.

"You informed B'Elanna, Naomi and me that we could not be affected by this virus because we are hybrids but B'Elanna and Naomi could have easily been affected. The fact that they are hybrids is not relevant." Seven said as her suspicions grew.

"Well, you see Seven, the virus is very complicated. This is only a very simplified report." The Doctor lied. "It would take another doctor to understand my findings."

Seven narrowed her eyes and walked over to the Doctor. The rest of the crew noticed immediately that Seven's eyes seemed to be glowing and completely white.

"Most of the chemicals you have used for your inoculations would still be present in the systems of the crew."

Seven said let out a gasp of surprise. Somehow she was able to see the inoculations inside the bodies of the crew as the truth hit her. The Doctor had not given the crew inoculations for a flu virus. The inoculations contained her old nanoprobes. As she examined them further she realized they were designed to disrupt the chemical balance of the human brain. Some of them increased emotions such as anger, greed, and desire. The other chemicals caused these emotions to rise in the presence of any hybrid.

"You have been influencing their emotions." Seven said in a whisper, the betrayal evident in her tone. "You sold us into slavery and torture to create a human body for yourself!"

The Doctor found himself in a complete panic as he watched Seven rip through all of his carefully laid plans. He had to escape. He wouldn't spend his new-found corporeal existence in the brig.

The Doctor grabbed Seven with one arm and used the other to pull out his phaser and press it to the side of her head. "I did what I had to do." he said hysterically. "Each and every one of you benefited from this, and you know it."

"Get your hands off my girlfriend." B'Elanna said. She was the first to get to her feet and now glared at the doctor menacingly.

"Seven and I are leaving." The Doctor said, ignoring B'Elanna. "We are going to take the Delta Flyer and if any of you try to follow us I'll kill her."

"I'm not going to let you out of this room." B'Elanna snarled angrily.

"I'll kill her, I swear!" The Doctor cried desperately.

"Release me." Seven said, struggling with the Doctor. Without her Borg strength the Doctor was easily able to overpower her.

"Everything's going to be great, Seven, you'll see." The Doctor said as he tightened his grip. "We'll go to some far away planet and everything will be fine."

While the Doctor's attention was on Seven, B'Elanna reacted. Moving rapidly to the pair she sent a quick jab into the Doctor's nose.

The Doctor released Seven as his hands went up to cup his broken nose. Seven immediately went to B'Elanna's side but her enraged partner wasn't ready to stop there. She gently pushed Seven behind her and punched the Doctor in the stomach... hard.

The Doctor doubled over as the air left his lungs. B'Elanna jumped in the air and, with a half spin, smashed her heel into the side of his head, sending him slamming into the wall.

B'Elanna was letting all of the repressed fury of the past few days come to the surface. The anger at the crew betraying them, selling them to a bunch of aliens, letting them experiment on Seven, but mostly the fact that the Doctor had tried to hurt Seven again.

Before the Doctor slumped to the floor, B'Elanna was at him. Her rabbit punches smashed into his body from all sides. Only the force and the frequency of her hits stopped him from falling to the floor.

"Stop, Lieutenant," Tuvok said as he finally began to move.

B'Elanna didn't even look up as she delivered a palm strike to the side of Tuvok's head and a stomach kick that left him doubled over, before returning to inflicting more punishing blows on the Doctor, who had finally sunk to the floor.

The other occupants of the room didn't know what to do. They had never seen Tuvok defeated so quickly and seemingly effortlessly. They stood paralyzed, watching as B'Elanna continued to kick the Doctor. None of them wanted to risk getting the same rough treatment he was receiving.

"B'Elanna," Seven said as walked up to her carefully, but she got no response. "Please stop, it's over now." She spooned herself to the older woman's back and rested her head on her shoulder.

The effect on B'Elanna was almost immediate, the angry fugue she was in vanishing completely when she was embraced by the smaller woman.

B'Elanna allowed Seven to lead her away from the bloody, broken body of the Doctor. After taking a few steps B'Elanna couldn't help herself and took the younger woman in her arms.

"I almost lost you." B'Elanna said.

"No, you will never lose me. I will always be with you. I love you." Seven said as she looked up into B'Elanna's eyes.

"I love you too." B'Elanna said simply as she lowered her head and kissed Seven passionately.

"Excuse me." Janeway said, regaining some of her confidence now that B'Elanna didn't seem to pose a threat anymore. "What the hell is going on?"

"The Doctor has been controlling you." Seven answered as she broke the kiss. "If you perform a molecular scan on anyone aboard Voyager you will find Borg nanoprobes specifically designed to alter your emotions."

"Let's go, Seven. I'm sure Paris can patch those two up." B'Elanna said, leading her beloved out of the conference room.

"None of this information is to leave this room." Janeway said as she finally took control of the situation. "Tom, after you finish with the Doctor and Tuvok perform a molecular scan on us." she ordered.

"Wow," Tom said as he looked over the injuries of both Tuvok and the Doctor. "B'Elanna certainly did a number on you two."

"Indeed." Tuvok said as Paris finished on him. "I had not suspected that she would be this formidable."

"I don't think that the Doctor knew either." Paris said as he looked over at the man in the bio-bed. "He's pretty much ready to go. I just have to revive him."

"No, I believe that the Doctor should remain sedated until we can verify the claims made against him." Tuvok said.

"Sure, how about I start with you?" Paris asked. "Since we know what we're looking for this should only take a couple of minutes."

"Proceed." Tuvok said as he lay down on the bio-bed and the scan began.

When the scan was completed Paris looked over the results. There were definitely Borg nanoprobes in Tuvok's system. "Seven was right." Paris said with a glimmer of hope. "They can't be upset with us now, it wasn't our fault. We were being controlled."

"Indeed." Tuvok responded. "But we must test more of the crew before we can be sure."

"Well, I'll go next." Paris said as he hopped up on the bio-bed that Tuvok had just vacated. "It's already programmed for the scan, just hit start." Paris instructed.

The scan only took a few minutes to run and the results were the same. The only difference was that there was a slightly higher concentration of nanoprobes in Paris' system.

"Interesting," Tuvok remarked as he looked over the results. "The nanoprobes have ceased to function, yet they still remain a part of your body."

"Yeah, the nanoprobes are pretty much going to stay where they are until they're removed." Paris said thoughtfully. "They don't seem to pose any kind of danger to us though."

"I will contact the Captain." Tuvok said as he tapped his comm. badge. "Tuvok to Janeway."

"Janeway here, what were the results?" she asked from the bridge.

"It appears that Seven of Nine was correct. Both Mr. Paris and I have been infected by nanoprobes."

"I guess it's safe to assume that the rest of the crew has been affected as well."

"Yes, Captain. Mr. Paris believes that the nanoprobes will not pose any health risk to us but the Borg may find a way to reactivate them remotely and assimilate us."

"I agree, set up a schedule to have the nanoprobes removed." Janeway ordered.

"What do you wish to do about the Doctor?" Tuvok asked.

"We'll have a trial at the end of Alpha shift." Janeway said with a sigh. "I doubt anyone will want to represent the Doctor. Revive him and ask if he will be willing to represent himself."

"Yes, Captain," Tuvok said as he closed the link.

Paris placed a hypo spray to his patient's neck and, after a few seconds, the Doctor opened his eyes and let out a groan. He'd had no idea that B'Elanna could hit that hard.

"What happened?" The Doctor asked as he rubbed his head.

"Why did you do it?" Paris asked. "You manipulated our minds, all so you could have a human body."

"I did what I had to do. I knew none of you would give the Socadan what they needed. It was the only way."

"Your trial will begin at the end of Alpha shift." Tuvok informed the Doctor. "Will you be representing yourself?"

"Yes, I don't expect anyone else will want to do it." The Doctor said as he sat up.

"Seven what happened in there?" B'Elanna asked referring to Seven's glowing eyes when they returned to their ship.

"I am unsure." Seven said. "It was like the time you were injured on the space station. I needed for you to be healed and it just happened. I also needed to know what the doctor had done and it was as if I could see the inoculations in the crew's bodies."

"It sounds to me like you're doing all of this on instinct." B'Elanna said thoughtfully. "Can you willingly make your eyes glow?"

"No," Seven admitted. "I have tried recently but nothing happens. Perhaps I must learn how to use these new abilities."

"_What a mess." _Janeway reflected to herself as she sat on the bridge. _"At least it'll make things a little easier to patch up with Seven and B'Elanna. I might even get them to go back to work because of it."_

"Captain, the trial is about to begin." Chakotay said, standing up.

"Alright, let's go." Janeway said as the senior staff left the bridge.

It had been decided that the trial would be held in the mess hall, and made available for later viewing by the rest of the crew. Due to the nature of the Doctor's crime and the fact that it had affected the entire crew, everyone had a stake in the outcome.

Janeway and Chakotay took their seats at the head table. The two of them would be acting as the judges. Most of the off-duty crew was already present in the mess hall. They believed that it would be an open and shut case. The Doctor would walk in, plead guilty, be sentenced and that would be the end of it.

A few moments later B'Elanna, Seven and Naomi arrived and took their seats. The three hybrids still separated themselves from the rest of the crew. It would take a lot of work from the crew of Voyager before they would be trusted again.

The Doctor entered next. He was escorted in wearing handcuffs and accompanied by two security officers holding phasers. For a man that was soon to be sentenced for his numerous crimes he seemed surprisingly calm.

When everyone was seated, Janeway began the trial. "Doctor, you stand before us accused of drugging the crew of Voyager, engineering the kidnapping of three crew members, breaching the prime directive by not following the rules of first contact, and aiding in the torture of a crew member. How do you plead?"

The crew members crowded into the mess hall met the Doctor's eyes with angry glares as he looked around the courtroom but he didn't seem scared, frightened or even remorseful. He looked straight into Janeway's eyes and stated clearly, "Not guilty on all charges."

To Be Continued...


	17. The Trial

Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal

Part Seventeen

The crew members crowded into the mess hall met the Doctor's eyes with angry glares as he looked around the courtroom but he didn't seem scared, frightened or even remorseful. He looked straight into Janeway's eyes and stated clearly, "Not guilty on all charges."

"What?" Janeway asked, unable to believe the doctor would have the gall to plead not guilty.

"I am not guilty Captain, and I will prove it." The doctor said.

"Proceed with your opening statement." Janeway ground out as she glared at the doctor.

"I believe that I will start with the charge of breaching the prime directive. What have I done to breach it?" The doctor asked calmly.

"You made first contact with Socadan and traded technology with them without informing or gaining the consent of the senior staff." Tuvok answered.

"The rules of first contact only apply to a species that has not discovered warp travel." The doctor responded smugly.

"You are wrong, Doctor." Chakotay informed him. "The rules of first contact do apply. Trading Federation technology with any species not part of the Federation is a breach of the rules."

"Is it?" the doctor asked sarcastically. "Then tell me, what was it when you gave the Borg a biological weapon to use against Species 8472? What was it when you destroyed the Caretaker's array? And most importantly, what was it when you gave holographic technology to the Hirogen?" The doctor finished angrily.

The onlookers shuffled restlessly in their positions. If the doctor was going to be punished for breaking the prime directive then so would the rest of the crew.

"Let's move on to the charges of engineering the kidnapping of three crew members and aiding in the torture of a crew member." The doctor continued with an angry sneer. "The crew members you speak of were never kidnapped."

"What they hell are you talking about, Doctor?" Janeway asked. "We all know that the Socadan experimented on them."

"I said that the three crew members were never kidnapped, not what the Socadan did to them." The doctor replied, looking annoyed.

"They were taken against their will. I believe that constitutes kidnapping." Tuvok answered.

"It was never my plan to give them to the Socadan. I would have been satisfied with letting the Socadan experiment on them for a couple of weeks aboard Voyager. It was your idea to trade them. No one here can accuse me of breaking the prime directive unless they admit to breaking it themselves. I may have used nanoprobes to influence your emotions but I could never have controlled them. In the end, all of the decisions were yours to make. If you had really wanted to you could have stopped it." The doctor finished his opening statement.

"Tuvok, please proceed with your opening statements." Janeway said, unable to even look at the doctor.

"Every person has to take an oath when they become a doctor. It is called the Hippocratic oath - do no harm. The doctor has broken his oath. He has controlled the crew with Borg nanoprobes, he has engineered the kidnapping of three crew members, one a minor. He has allowed one of them to be tortured and experimented on. He has done things that would cripple a normal human with guilt and yet he shows no remorse. I believe he has proven that he is a danger to the well-being of the rest of the crew." Tuvok finished.

"Alright Tuvok, you may call your first witness." Janeway said.

"I call Seven of Nine to the stand." Tuvok responded.

Seven stood up reluctantly and made her way to the stand. It was obvious that this was the last place she wanted to be.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" One of the security officers asked when Seven sat down.

"I do." Seven said keeping her eyes locked on B'Elanna for support.

"What did the Socadan do to you when you were brought aboard the space station?" Tuvok asked.

"They put Naomi, B'Elanna and me in a containment cell. They informed us that they would be carrying out their experiments on me and if I were to die, they would then use B'Elanna and Naomi as their test subjects." Seven stated.

"What types of experiments did they perform on you?" Tuvok asked.

"I am unsure." Seven lied. She did not want to give the Voyager crew any more information about what happened than they already possessed.

"Explain to us what you know happened." Tuvok instructed.

"They first began with a complete physical. Then they injected me with a series of inoculations, each followed by a full scan."

"Did the injections cause you any pain?"

"Yes." Seven answered, uncomfortable with discussing the procedures she'd undergone.

"Can you elaborate?" Tuvok asked calmly.

"The first injection was the most painful, it is comparable to when the Borg removed my organic eye and replaced it with an implant. The second and third were much less painful."

"No further questions."

"Your witness Doctor," Janeway said.

"How is your health now Seven?" The doctor asked.

"My health is fine."

"Are you still dependent on your alcove?"

"No."

"Do you still have Borg implants in your body?"

"No."

"How was your health before you left Voyager?"

"My alcove had been modified to interfere with my implants and decrease my overall strength considerably."

"Do you know who modified your alcove?"

"No."

"It was Harry Kim under the orders of Captain Janeway. He modified it without my knowledge or consent." The doctor said, proving that he had not had complete control over the crew.

"Objection Captain." Tuvok spoke. "I fail to see the relevance of these questions."

"I am simply trying to show that Seven's health has improved considerably after her stay with the Socadan. Often a patient has to deal with some minor pain to be healthier in the long run." The doctor explained.

"Objection denied." Janeway said, knowing that she had to stay impartial.

"I have no further questions for the witness." The doctor said, excusing Seven.

"I call B'Elanna Torres to the stand." Tuvok said when Seven left the stand.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" The security officer asked B'Elanna.

"I do." B'Elanna answered as she sat down.

"Do you feel that the doctor can be trusted with your medical examinations and those of the rest of the crew?" Tuvok asked.

"No."

"Could you please elaborate on your reasoning?"

"The doctor violated my trust and organized our kidnapping. I will never trust him again." B'Elanna answered truthfully as she glared at the doctor.

"The doctor was put in a position to maintain the well being of the crew and he has violated the trust of everyone in this room. He cannot be allowed to go unpunished." Tuvok said, addressing the court. "I have no further questions."

"While we are on the issue of trust, B'Elanna, how do you feel about the rest of the crew?" The doctor asked. He had realized from the beginning that he would not come out of this unscathed, so he had decided to make things as difficult for the rest of the crew as he could.

"I don't trust them either, after everything we've done for Voyager you all still turned on us. You tried to make us slaves." B'Elanna ground out.

"The doctor was controlling us, we didn't have a choice." Harry interrupted.

"That's bullshit. You all just wanted a faster way home, regardless of the consequences. You were all ready to cover it up and brand us as lunatics if we ever told anyone what happened!" B'Elanna shouted.

"This hearing will come to order." The captain ordered over the shouting of everyone watching.

"No further questions." The doctor said with a slight smirk after everyone had quieted down.

"Do you have any further witnesses?" Janeway asked Tuvok.

"No Captain."

"Do you have any witnesses Doctor?" Janeway asked.

"No Captain, they have already been called." The Doctor said, deciding that calling Naomi Wildman would not be helpful to his case.

"I will deliver my verdict shortly." The Captain said as B'Elanna left the stand and walked back over to Naomi and Seven.

"How do you think it's going to go?" B'Elanna asked.

"I do not believe that they will be able to convict the doctor." Seven said after a moment's thought.

"Are you sure? They look like they have enough evidence." B'Elanna asked.

"Normally it would be enough, but the doctor was not trying to prove his innocence. He was trying to show that the rest of the crew was as guilty as he was." Seven explained.

"And if they convict him, they will have to convict themselves." B'Elanna said, understanding.

The three hybrids spent the next half hour discussing what they thought would happen if the doctor was not convicted.

"I guess we're going to find out now." Naomi said as she pointed to Janeway making her way back to her seat.

"That was pretty quick." B'Elanna observed.

"After careful consideration I have decided that Starfleet laws are not always applicable in situations like this. We are alone in the Delta quadrant, and some rules must be bent for our continued survival." Janeway said, not daring to look at any of the hybrids.

"Looks like you were right Seven." B'Elanna said as she felt her anger building.

"I may not be able to convict you for your crimes Doctor, but you have destroyed the trust of the entire crew. You will not be allowed to continue as chief medical officer any longer. As of this moment you are demoted to crewman, and will have no chance of a promotion of any kind." Janeway finished.

"They could never have punished the doctor as Starfleet law demands. We knew this from the beginning." Seven said soothingly as she hugged Naomi and B'Elanna.

"I know Seven." B'Elanna said as she kissed Seven's forehead. "I guess I just didn't want to believe it until we saw it."

"Let's just go." Naomi suggested. "We still need to fix the ship."

"Perhaps you are correct." Seven agreed as the hybrids turned to leave.

"Where are you three going?" Janeway asked as she walked over to them.

"We are returning to our ship." Seven said.

"We still haven't talked about the two of you returning to Voyager." Janeway said, keeping her eyes glued on Seven.

"Nothing's changed Janeway. We will not be working for the Federation ever again." B'Elanna said as they pushed passed.

_Three hours later..._

"I just don't get it." Janeway said, frustrated. "I stripped the doctor of his rank. What more do they want."

"Maybe this is something we just can't fix." Chakotay sighed. "Everyone knows we can't bring charges against the doctor without bringing charges against ourselves."

"We have to get them back to work. If we're attacked, repairs will take too long to complete without them." Janeway elaborated.

"It isn't as bad as it seems. The Socadan did upgrade a lot of the ship's systems. We now have the speed to get away if things are really bad." Chakotay said hopefully. "Besides, I am sure that if Voyager really is in danger they'll help, at least for the sake of their own survival

"I hope you're right. We still have a few years of travel before we make it back to the Alpha quadrant."

"B'Elanna, look at this." Seven said as she looked through the computer core of their ship.

"What is it?" B'Elanna asked, looking up from the panel she was replacing.

"I believe that I have found a rudimentary artificial intelligence hard wired into the computer core." Seven said.

"That isn't anything special. All Federation vessels are equipped with one." B'Elanna said as she looked over Seven's shoulder.

"No." Seven disagreed. "This is different. The artificial intelligence is different, almost as if it is alive. I believe that I can re-activate it." Seven started to bring it online.

"It might be dangerous." B'Elanna warned, remembering the artificial intelligence that took over Paris's mind.

"I would have sensed it if the ship was dangerous." Seven countered.

"What do you mean sensed it?" B'Elanna asked.

"I have developed some empathic abilities. It was one of ways I was able to find out that the doctor was lying." Seven explained.

"Alright do it." B'Elanna said.

Seven activated the artificial intelligence, and watched as the rest of the ship began to power up.

"All damaged circuits bypassed. Three life signs detected. Identify yourselves." A voice sounded.

"What's going on?" Naomi asked as walked into the room.

"Seven just activated the artificial intelligence." B'Elanna informed her.

"I am Seven of Nine." Seven identified herself. "The child is Naomi Wildman, the other adult female is B'Elanna Torres. Who are you?" Seven asked.

"I am... circuit damage too extensive." The voice ended abruptly.

"If you give us instructions we may be able to repair you." Seven said.

"Negative, damaged circuits cannot be recovered."

"What do you suggest we do?" B'Elanna asked.

"Please replace all of my broken circuits, I will adapt to the situation." The voice instructed.

"Do you have a name?" Naomi asked curiously.

"The only circuits that have not been destroyed contain the basic information for my systems, all personal data has been destroyed."

"What should we call you then?" B'Elanna asked.

"I do not know."

"Perhaps we can give you a name." Seven suggested.

"That would be acceptable."

"Do you like the name Legaia?" Seven asked.

"The name is acceptable." The computer voice said.

"You know, she kind of talks like you Seven." Naomi said with a smile.

"Until my language database is repaired I will be speaking like this." Legaia said.

"Do you know how long it'll take to get you working?" B'Elanna asked.

"You have already repaired my base systems. Judging by the number of damaged circuits and relays remaining, at your present speed it will take approximately six hours to complete all repairs."

"I suggest we start with your most important systems first." Seven spoke.

"I concur." Legaia agreed. "I suggest you start with my internal bio-scanner."

"What's that?" B'Elanna asked curiously.

"It allows me to perform a detailed scan of every life form inside of me. I use this information to delineate between my crew and any hostiles." Legaia said helpfully.

"Do you mean that you can use this scan to make sure that only certain people can enter you?" B'Elanna asked.

"Yes. Who would you like to clear for boarding?" Legaia asked.

"How can you trust us?" Seven asked curiously. "We have done nothing to earn it."

"It was you that found me in the junk yard, Seven of Nine. You detected the emergency pulse I was transmitting. It is the only basis I have to trust anyone." Legaia responded.

"There, I think that should do it." B'Elanna said as she replaced the circuit for the bio-scanner as Legaia finished speaking.

A blue light surrounded Seven, B'Elanna and Naomi for several seconds before dissipating. "Bio scans complete. The three of you are the only ones authorized to access any of my systems. All other attempts to gain access will be met with resistance."

"Captain, a vessel just dropped out of warp beside us." Kim informed the bridge.

"Red Alert, hailing frequency open." Janeway ordered. "I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the star ship Voyager. Identify yourselves."

"It is good to see you again Captain." Carkonas said as he and Callik approached the view screen.

"What do you want?" Janeway asked, a little shocked to be seeing them again.

"We have run into a few problems with our experiments and we must re-examine your drone." Carkonas said.

"You said that you didn't need them anymore." Janeway said, a little worried that she would have to fight the species that had upgraded most of their weapons.

"We will of course pay you for your cooperation." Callik said. "Perhaps you could use some dilithium crystals for your warp engines?" He suggested.

"We have already figured out that the doctor has been controlling us." Janeway informed them coolly. "Your plan will not work a second time."

"Captain, we have outfitted your ship with its new systems. Do you really wish to challenge us?" Callik warned.

To Be Continued...

Yeah! another cliff hanger, you know what you have to do to get the next part out.


	18. Revelations and Pain

Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal

Part Eighteen

_"Captain, we have outfitted your ship with its new systems. Do you__really wish to challenge us?" Callik warned._

"We can discuss it on my ship." Janeway said, trying to take control of the situation.

"Very well, Captain. But you will make sure that the drone is there." Carkonas ordered as he closed the link.

"Janeway to Seven of Nine," Janeway said with a sigh.

"Seven here."

"I need you to meet me in the ready room in ten minutes." Janeway said.

"We do not have anything to discuss." Seven responded.

"It's about the Socadan. They want to see you again." Janeway said reluctantly.

"What?" B'Elanna's voice came through Seven's comm. badge. "You actually let those monsters on the ship?" she asked incredulously.

"We don't have any choice at the moment. They are the one's who supplied the upgrades for most of Voyager's systems. If we engage them we will be at a serious disadvantage." Janeway explained.

"We will be there." Seven closed the link.

"Now comes the hard part," Chakotay said reflecting on how difficult it would be to keep B'Elanna under control, as well as Seven.

"How bad can it be?" Janeway asked optimistically. "They probably just want to give Seven another medical exam. We may even be able to find out what they did to her. Until now Seven's refused every request to submit to a medical exam."

"How could you agree to that, Seven?" B'Elanna asked. "Who knows what they are going to try this time?"

"They are here because they do not understand why Omega was able to bond with me, and not any of their people. We are also at a distinct tactical disadvantage. They know everything about Voyager's systems and we know nothing of theirs." Seven explained.

"What if we leave on Legaia? I bet the Socadan don't know anything about it. We may be able to surprise them." B'Elanna offered, not liking the situation one little bit.

"Leaving now would be unadvisable. I have no data about the Socadan and my systems are not at 100. I must concur with Seven." Legaia said.

"Perhaps you and Naomi could remain here." Seven offered. "You may be able to get enough of Legaia's systems operational so that we can run if necessary."

"No way, Seven." Naomi said, putting her foot down. "You're not as strong as you used to be. If they try anything you won't be able to defend yourself."

"Naomi's right. If we do this, we do it together." B'Elanna agreed.

"The captain is waiting for us." Seven said, relieved that she wouldn't have to do this alone.

"I will continue with minor repairs until you return." Legaia said as they left the ship.

Seven, B'Elanna, and Naomi entered the ready room to find Carkonas and Callik already seated and waiting for them.

Seven couldn't stop the feeling of panic that filled her when she saw them. It was only the comfort of B'Elanna's arms around her waist that helped her calm down. "It's going to be okay Seven." B'Elanna whispered.

"Why are you here? Your business with Voyager has already concluded." Seven said as she took the seat furthest away from the Socadans.

"There have been a few inconsistencies with the procedures we performed on you in comparison to procedures we performed on our own soldiers." Carkonas explained.

"What kind of inconsistencies?" Janeway asked curiously. She wanted to find out as much as she could about what had been done to Seven.

"None of the procedures that we performed on our own people yielded any positive results." Callik said, revealing his frustration.

"That still doesn't explain why you're here." B'Elanna said.

"We are here because we need to perform further studies on the drone. We must know why she was able to bond with Omega while our own people could not." Carkonas explained.

"OMEGA!" Janeway shouted. "Are you telling me there are Omega molecules inside Seven?"

"They are not just simply inside her. They have merged with every cell in her body. The drone is, in essence, an omega life form." Callik said, not bothering to hide his disgust of the humans he was surrounded by.

"Stop calling her 'the drone'." B'Elanna said, standing up.

"This is not the time for this." Seven said as she gently pulled B'Elanna back down into her seat.

"I'm not going to let them talk about you like that Seven." B'Elanna argued. "They act like you're some kind of object."

"To them I am an object and there is nothing that even you can do to change their minds. In the end I will go down in their medical books as test subject one." Seven said with a sigh.

"What kinds of tests do you want to do on Seven?" Janeway asked trying to take control of the meeting.

"We will also require full disclosure of the tests and procedures performed on Seven of Nine." Tuvok stated.

"Wait a minute!" B'Elanna said. "Seven hasn't agreed to anything, least of all being your guinea pig again."

"Once again you find yourself in a position where you no longer have a choice about what happens to you in your own life." Callik said with an evil smirk. "If you do not do what we say we will destroy this ship and everything on it."

"On my planet we have a theory about people. A person is only a person if they control what happens in their own life. Anyone that cannot is not a person at all, merely an animal that was pampered by its master." Carkonas said, smiling as he looked at Seven.

"Seven, I would not ask you to do this if-" Janeway began to say.

"Save it for someone that still believes your lies." B'Elanna said angrily. "What are they paying you off with this time; some more dilithium, a cloaking device?"

"You are out of line, Lieutenant." Janeway said raising her voice as well.

"I'm not part of Starfleet anymore!" B'Elanna shouted. "And if we were back in the alpha quadrant you would be in jail for what you've done."

"You will not find the information that you are looking for with your tests." Seven informed them. She was now resigned to the fact that she would have to tell all of them more about what happened to her.

"And why is that?" Carkonas sneered.

"Omega must decide if you are worthy of Evolution. Your soldiers did not evolve because Omega knew what they would do with that kind of power." Seven said.

"Wait Seven, are you saying that Omega is a sentient life form?" Janeway said, reeling from the information that she was receiving.

"You are correct." Seven said, deciding to ignore Janeway's rank.

"There must be a way to overcome this new variable." Callik said as he started making notes.

"We will just have to perform some more tests." Carkonas said. "I am sure that with time we can overcome this new problem."

"Your tests will fail. Omega is far more powerful than you can imagine. It would unwise to challenge it." Seven warned.

"We shall see." Carkonas said arrogantly. "Now, will you agree to our tests, or will we have to use force?"

"I will agree to the tests only if they are performed aboard Voyager." Seven offered.

"What are you doing, Seven?" Naomi asked.

"Yeah, you can't let those monsters hurt you again." B'Elanna added.

"We do not have a choice. There is no way for us to outrun or fight them. It is the solution with the highest probability of success." Seven said sadly.

"The only way that Seven is going to do this is if we're present while you conduct your 'test'." B'Elanna demanded.

"Your terms are acceptable." Callik agreed.

"We will begin the test immediately. You will show us where your sick bay is." Carkonas ordered.

"It is this way." Seven stood and left the ready room with B'Elanna and Naomi on either side of her, followed closely by Carkonas and Callik.

"Well, that was interesting." Paris said as he watched them leave.

"Indeed." Tuvok agreed. "If Seven has in fact merged with Omega we are under direct orders from Starfleet to destroy her."

"We can't do that!" Paris disagreed. "She is still a sentient life form. Captain, this is not right."

"If we explain the situation to Starfleet I'm sure that it won't come to that." Janeway said, not feeling completely sure about it.

"Do you think that they did anything to B'Elanna and Naomi?" Harry asked.

"I don't think so, Harry." Chakotay said. "The Socadan were only interested in Seven. Even when they first approached us they only wanted B'Elanna and Naomi in case something happened to Seven. Since the experiments they performed on Seven were a success, B'Elanna and Naomi mean nothing to them."

"I hope that you're right." Harry said. "We can't afford to lose all of them."

"This is our sick bay." Seven said as she walked through the door.

"Where is your doctor?" Carkonas asked.

"After we discovered that he selfishly influenced the minds of the crew to get his corporeal form from you, he was demoted to crewmen. A new doctor has not been appointed or trained yet." Seven explained.

"What are you going to do to Seven?" B'Elanna asked angrily, unable to contain her hostility.

"For now we will be performing a molecular scan on the drone then comparing it to those of our soldiers." Callik said.

Carkonas pulled out a scanner from his belt and began to move it up and down in front of Seven. "I don't understand." He said, clearly confused. "Our soldiers were given the inoculations in exactly the same procedure as this drone."

"What has happened to your soldiers?" Seven asked curiously.

"Omega de-stabilized in their bodies and they all returned to normal within 36 hours." Carkonas said, looking up from his scan.

"Did that not encourage your leaders to discontinue your experiments?" Seven asked.

"Normally they would have, but after we showed them your results they decided that we should continue." Callik said.

"Are you finished yet?" B'Elanna asked impatiently.

"For now, we will inform you when we need to perform more tests." Carkonas dismissed them.

"Not a moment too soon." B'Elanna muttered as they left sick bay.

"Are you okay Seven?" Naomi asked. "They didn't hurt you did they?"

"I am well Naomi. In time they will realize they will not be able to duplicate their experiments and hopefully leave." Seven said.

"Let's talk about it more on Legaia." B'Elanna said as she put her arm around Seven's waist and kissed her cheek.

"We're back, Legaia!" Naomi said as she ran into the ship.

"How was your meeting with the Socadan?" Legaia asked curiously.

"As well as could be expected, I guess." B'Elanna sighed as she sat down in one of the chairs.

"They are performing tests on me to see if they can re-create their experiment." Seven informed Legaia.

"Will they be able to succeed?" Legaia asked.

"No, their plans are doomed to failure, they just don't realize it yet." B'Elanna said.

The senior staff was at a standstill about what to do. Even under the best of circumstances it was still a lot of information to take in. Seven had merged with Omega molecules to become a new life form, the doctor had manipulated the crew into abandoning three of its own, and the Socadan knew everything about Voyager's systems, making a direct confrontation almost impossible to win.

"Did the Socadan say how long they were going to be aboard Voyager?" Janeway asked.

"They have not given us a specific time as to when they will leave the ship." Tuvok said.

"I guess we'll just have to ask them." Janeway said. "Computer, what is the location of the Socadan?"

"The Socadan are in sickbay." The computer responded.

"Chakotay, Tuvok, let's go. I want the rest of you to monitor their movements." Janeway said as she left the ready room.

When Janeway, Chakotay, and Tuvok entered sickbay they found Carkonas and Callik arguing.

"We have to take the drone back to the space station. These humans don't have the necessary equipment." Callik argued.

"The equipment here will have to do. We will not be able to bargain for the drone a second time." Carkonas said.

"Are we interrupting something?" Janeway said letting her presence become known.

"No Captain, we were just having a discussion on how to best perform our tests." Carkonas said with a fake smile.

"How long will you be aboard Voyager?" Janeway asked. "We can't wait around for too long, my crew and I are anxious to resume course for the alpha quadrant."

"We will not be much longer." Callik reassured her.

"Then I will leave you to it." Janeway said, wanting nothing more than to get the two aliens off her ship as soon as possible.

"The only choice we have left is to capture the drone?" Carkonas said to Callik when he was sure they were alone.

"It will not be easy. They will refuse to return the drone to us. If they knew that their ship was almost equal to ours in power we would not have even been allowed to board." Callik said.

"Voyager's shields are down, it is only a matter of finding the drone and transporting back to our ship. Once we reach Socadan space it will impossible for them to retrieve it." Carkonas said confidently.

"Very well," Callik agreed.

"Computer, what is the location of Seven of Nine?" Carkonas asked.

"Seven of Nine is in Cargo Bay 2" The computer responded.

"I must retrieve some of my belongings." Seven said, looking up from the console she was working at.

"I didn't know you kept anything in the cargo bay." B'Elanna said as she stood up.

"It is not much, but it has sentimental value." Seven said.

"Sure, I understand, Seven." B'Elanna said with a smile. "I'll walk down with you."

"I'm going to stay and talk to Legaia for a while." Naomi said.

"We'll be back in a little while." B'Elanna said as she and Seven left the ship.

"So, what did you keep in here anyway?" B'Elanna asked curiously.

"A picture of One, and a gift that was given to me when Chakotay and I crashed on the planet that was isolated by an alien shield." Seven said.

"Oh, I remember. That was the away mission Chakotay dragged you on and you made first contact with the natives." B'Elanna said.

As she finished speaking, two shimmers of blue light instantly caught B'Elanna's eye.

"You are not allowed to transport inside the ship unless it's an emergency."

"Oh, but this is an emergency." Carkonas said with an evil smile. "You see, we have to get the drone off this ship before anyone else figures out what we're doing."

"You're not taking Seven anywhere." B'Elanna said with a growl. "Besides if you use those weapons the ship will automatically go to red alert and security will be here in less than 30 seconds."

"Who says we need weapons." Callik said as he threw his weapon to the ground and charged at B'Elanna.

B'Elanna followed suit immediately and rushed at Callik, preparing to launch a kick to his head.

Callik surprised B'Elanna with his speed and strength, catching B'Elanna's foot in mid kick and throwing her across the cargo bay. B'Elanna crashed into a crate and was slow to stand up, favoring her left side.

"You can't expect to beat me, mongrel." Callik said with a superior tone. "I am you superior in every way." He rushed at her again.

B'Elanna was somehow able to deliver a punch to Callik's jaw that sent him sprawling. "Well, you're not so tough." B'Elanna smirked. "Down in one hit."

"Just a lucky punch," Callik said, standing up and wiping the blood off his lip. "You will not be so lucky a second time."

"Let's find out." B'Elanna said as she performed a round house kick.

Callik easily caught her foot again, but this time instead of throwing her across the room he meted out a punishing blow to her unguarded mid-section.

B'Elanna fell to her knees, coughing up blood. The punch had broken a couple of her ribs, at the very least.

"Pathetic," Callik said as he turned away from B'Elanna to face Seven. "If that is your champion, you will not last very long."

Seven was too shocked to respond. She had never seen B'Elanna lose a fight before, especially this quickly. There was also the fact that she hated violence. The atrocities that she had been forced to commit as a Borg still weighed heavily on her.

"We're not finished yet." B'Elanna said in a weak voice as she slowly got to her feet, shocking both Carkonas and Callik.

"Impossible," breathed Callik. "No one has ever gotten up from that punch before."

B'Elanna using the last of her strength to swing a punch at Callik but her weariness caused her to miss, a mistake that Callik quickly took advantage of. Callik grabbed B'Elanna's fist and spun her around. Wrapping his free hand around her neck, he gave it a sharp pull. A loud crack could be heard as B'Elanna fell lifelessly to the floor.

"B'Elanna!" Seven screamed as she rushed to her and frantically checked for a pulse. "NO! You can't leave me B'Elanna. I need you." She whispered despairingly.

Her hands began to glow softly as she lowered her hands towards B'Elanna's neck.

Callik grabbed Seven by the shoulders and pulled her up before she could touch B'Elanna. "We are going to find out everything about you, especially what that light was."

"No! Please let me go." Seven pleaded as she struggled to get out of Callik's vice like grip.

"Careful," Carkonas instructed. "We must not damage the drone, it's too valuable."

"As you wish," Callik said as he pulled the struggling, and now crying, Seven towards Carkonas.

Carkonas tapped his comm. badge and the three disappeared in a mass of blue light.

"Captain, I just detected a transport from Cargo Bay 2 to the Socadan vessel." Harry Kim announced as the Socadan vessel left at maximum warp.

"Red alert, set an intercept course. Tuvok take a security team to Cargo Bay 2 and find out what they took." Janeway ordered.

Tuvok simply nodded as he left the bridge.

"Captain, we're falling behind, and we're at maximum warp." Tom Paris said from the helm.

"How long before we lose contact with them?" Janeway asked.

"We have, at best, another ten minutes." Paris estimated.

"We won't need to see them to follow." Harry said as he looked down at his console. "What ever they're using to power their engines is leaving a pretty easy trail to follow."

"Captain, I have found B'Elanna Torres." Tuvok said over the comm.

"Does she know what was taken?" The Captain asked.

"I would assume that they have captured Seven of Nine."

"B'Elanna told you this?" Janeway wanted to be sure.

"No Captain, but the only way someone could capture Seven is if B'Elanna were dead."

To Be Continued...

Don't you just love cliff hangers? Wait you guys don't? All this time I was putting them in because I thought you liked them.

You know what you have to do if you want the next chapter any time soon.


	19. Living Life

Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal

Part Nineteen

"_No Captain, but the only way that someone could capture Seven is if B'Elanna were dead."_

Voyager had followed Carkonas and Callik as far as they could go. Just as they were drawing closer they were met with three war ships and told to leave Socadan space immediately.

Even with its upgrades, Voyager didn't stand a chance against three war ships and was forced to retreat.

The senior staff was gathered in Sickbay, looking at the bloodied and broken corpse of B'Elanna Torres, their former Chief of Engineering.

Janeway could think of nothing other than what she was going to say to Naomi. She knew that the child had been close to both Seven and B'Elanna. Now, with B'Elanna dead and Seven kidnapped and unlikely to be returned, Naomi was alone. It would break the little girl's heart to hear what she had to say. And also adding the fact that Naiomi didn't trust anyone else this would be that much harder.

"Captain," Harry called, looking alarmed. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" He asked as he pointed to B'Elanna's body.

Janeway gasped at what she witnessed happening to the still form on the bio-bed. It was slow at first, barley noticeable, but yellow sparks of light began to emerge from B'Elanna's body. In a few moments they had completely surrounded her body, forcing the senior staff to shield their eyes.

Tuvok immediately pulled out a tricorder and began to scan B'Elanna's body. "Captain, I am detecting the presence of the Omega molecule." He announced.

The light began to flair even brighter, a scream reverberating throughout sickbay as the half-Klingon was returned to the living.

The light slowly began to fade, revealing B'Elanna Torres to the astonished gazes of the senior staff. She was not as they remembered her. She was at least three inches taller than she used to be and, just like Seven, she seemed younger. She looked, at most, only 21 years old. But where Seven looked petite and delicate, B'Elanna seemed the exact opposite. Her muscles were toned, without looking bulky, every muscle group clearly defined. Her hair had grown so that it reached midway down her back. She looked like a warrior that would make even the most fearless soldier take a step back.

B'Elanna's eyes shot open and she sat up quickly. The clothes she was wearing were ripped, partly from her fight with Callik and partly from her physical changes. "Where is Seven?" She demanded, her voice still hoarse from the transformation.

"What happened to you, Lieutenant?" Janeway asked in shock.

"Where is Seven?" B'Elanna repeated, deciding to ignore the question and the use of her former rank.

"The Socadan took her," Janeway said, unable to look the young woman in the eye. "We set a pursuit course but they reached Socadan space before we could catch them. Three battle cruisers forced us to leave."

"How long have I been unconscious?" B'Elanna asked.

"You have been out for at least three hours." Janeway informed her. "What happened to you, B'Elanna?"

"I merged with Omega." B'Elanna said as she got off the bio-bed. "What does it look like?"

"The Socadan never experimented on you. How is this possible?" Janeway asked.

"Seven's in trouble, and now I have the power to save her. That's all you need to know." B'Elanna said as she walked briskly out of sickbay towards the hangar that held Legaia and Naomi.

"Where are you going? You can't get past those three war ships." Chakotay asked, scurrying to keep up with the warrior.

"I'll worry about that." B'Elanna said as she entered the hangar bay and made her way over to Legaia.

"Is everything okay?" Naomi asked as she walked out of the ship. Then she paused and had a proper look at her friend. "What happened to you, B'Elanna?"

"I merged with Omega, just like Seven did." B'Elanna said, finding it hard to explain what had happened.

"Where is Seven?" Naomi asked curiously.

"The Socadan have her. I have to get her back." B'Elanna explained.

"I'm going with you." Naomi said adamantly.

"I need you to stay here Naomi, this is too dangerous." B'Elanna put her foot down.

"No way, Seven was my friend first. If anyone deserves to go it's me. Besides, what's going to happen to me if you and Seven don't come back?" Naomi argued.

"You need to stay here where it's safe." B'Elanna said, surprised that she was actually losing ground.

"Safe?" Naomi shouted, losing control. "You call this place safe? What's going to happen to me? How long do you think I'm going last without you guys? How long until the rest of them trade me for a new plasma injector?" Naomi asked as she pointed angrily at the senior staff.

"Alright," B'Elanna gave in, "but you stay on the ship the entire time. No exceptions."

"Fine," Naomi smiled as the pair began to walk into Legaia.

"Hold on a minute." Janeway said, stepping in. "I can't just allow you to go after Seven. You're no match for those war ships."

"This isn't your decision to make." B'Elanna said as she turned around to face the command staff.

"Tuvok, stop them." Janeway ordered. Tuvok pulled out his phaser.

"You don't want to do that." B'Elanna warned.

"You're not leaving me much choice." Janeway said. "Now step away from the ship."

"I warned you." B'Elanna said as her eyes began to glow.

Tuvok, taking that a sign as of aggression, fired his phaser at B'Elanna.

B'Elanna lifted her hand and a yellow beam of light shot out of her fingertips to meet the phaser blast. The two beams met inches away from B'Elanna's chest, causing B'Elanna's beam to form a small arc around her. B'Elanna's beam slowly forced the phaser beam back and shorted it out, as well as sending Tuvok flying back into the wall.

"You will not stop us." B'Elanna said as she waved her hand and another beam of light shot out and slammed the senior staff into the wall beside the slumped form of Tuvok and holding them in place.

The two hybrids boarded the shuttle, oblivious to the protests of the senior staff.

"B'Elanna, tell me what's going on." Naomi said as the ship door closed.

"You better sit down Naomi." B'Elanna said with a sigh as she began her story.

"Seven and I had just found out what Carkonas and Callik were planning to do. I wouldn't let them take Seven without a fight so we went at it with no weapons. I wasn't strong enough or fast enough to stop him. Callik beat me pretty quickly and snapped my neck. I think I was dead for about 10 minutes before things got really interesting."

B'Elanna found herself in a white room that seemed to stretch out forever. No matter which direction she looked, no matter what way she went, everything seemed the same, as if she hadn't moved at all.

_A voice said. "It is not your time yet, child, there are still a great many tasks left to complete." _

"_Who are you?" B'Elanna asked. "What is this place?"_

_Another voice spoke. "Where you are is not important, you are here to make a decision." _

_Two swirling vortexes opened up in front of B'Elanna. The first was white, sending off beams of light in every direction. The second was yellow and seemed to crackle with energy._

"_What decision? What are you talking about?" B'Elanna asked._

_A voice asked. "Your mate is in danger. Will you save her or will you continue to the after life?" _

_B'Elanna gave up on discerning the difference in the voices._

"_Of course, I will save her." B'Elanna answered without hesitation._

"_Before you agree, know that there is a price that you must pay. You will never be the same again." The voice warned._

"_I don't care." B'Elanna announced. "I'll pay any price to hold Seven in my arms again."_

"_Your mate has chosen well." A voice approved._

"_Seven is to become an Avatar. She has been chosen to bring about a great change to the universe. Some will revere her, others will hate what she stands for, and a select few will do all they can to destroy her._

"_She will need a protector, someone that will stand beside her against the coming darkness. Will you stand by her side?"_

"_Yes." B'Elanna said with complete conviction._

"_Then yellow vortex will return you to the land of the living, and the white will take you to the after life."_

"_Choose."_

_B'Elanna quickly entered the yellow portal, showing no hesitation whatsoever._

"_Awaken with the power of Omega at your fingertips." A voice said and B'Elanna's eyes snapped open._

Seven was curled up in the far corner of her cell, her body convulsing with heart-wrenching sobs. They had killed B'Elanna and there was nothing she could do about it.

Seven had cursed her weakness more times than she could count. If she'd still had her Borg strength she would have easily been able to overpower Callik, and B'Elanna wouldn't be dead.

Seven looked up at the guard with tears flowing from her eyes but she got no response. The guard just stared at her with cold, uncaring eyes, his phaser at the ready should Seven try anything.

"Why have you done this?" Seven asked when Callik and Carkonas walked in. "You did not have to kill B'Elanna, I would have come peacefully."

"She was a distraction." Carkonas said offhandedly, "and of no more use to us."

"What are you going to do to me?" Seven asked, feeling slight trepidation amidst the despair.

"We're going to figure out exactly how your body is stable while our own people's weren't." Carkonas informed her.

"I have already told you. Omega must choose you, not the other way around. Your experiments are doomed to failure." Seven said.

"We shall see." Callik said as he opened the cell and dragged Seven to her feet.

"We have reached Socadan space. I am detecting three war ships." Legaia announced.

"Go to battle mode." B'Elanna ordered.

"Acknowledged," Legaia said as it brought the shields and weapons on line.

"We're being hailed." Naomi said from her console.

"Put it on screen." B'Elanna said as she turned to look at the view screen.

"You are not authorized to enter Socadan space. Change course immediately or we will be forced to open fire." A Socadan military officer said.

"Your people have kidnapped my mate. Get out of our way." B'Elanna growled.

"The drone is now Socadan property, you will alter course immediately." He ordered.

"Not a chance in hell," B'Elanna said as she closed the link. "Legaia, target the lead ship's weapons and disable them." B'Elanna said as she took the helm and began to fly in a complex evasive pattern.

"Acknowledged, firing photon torpedoes, full spread." Legaia announced. "Direct hit, the lead ship's weapons are off line."

"We have to end this quick." Naomi said. "Legaia is tough but we don't know how many ships they have."

"Agreed," Legaia said as she targeted both remaining ships and in a matter of moments disabled them.

"How do we find Seven from here?" B'Elanna asked.

"I am detecting Seven of Nine's life signs, laying in a pursuit course." Legaia said as it jumped to warp.

"How much damage did you take?" B'Elanna asked.

"Minimal damage, shields down to 87. I have already started repair sequences. I will be 100 combat ready when we reach Seven of Nine." Legaia announced.

B'Elanna could do nothing for the next 15 minutes except wait around in the cockpit as Legaia repaired herself and they moved closer to Seven.

"She is aboard the space station." Legaia said as she brought the schematics up on the view screen.

"Hail them." B'Elanna ordered. "We are looking for Carkonas and Callik. Where are they?" B'Elanna asked as another Socadan appeared on the view screen.

"How did you get past our perimeter?" He asked.

"With ease." B'Elanna growled. "Now, tell me where I can find them or I will come over there myself and start looking."

"I would love to see you try." The Socadan laughed.

"Alright, Legaia set a collision course. Get us as close as you can to Seven without harming her." B'Elanna ordered.

"Yes B'Elanna." Legaia said as it began to increase velocity immediately.

The smile on the Socadan's face vanished immediately to be replaced by a look of horror. "No, you can't be serious!" He shouted as Legaia closed the link.

Legaia rapidly picked up speed as it got closer to the space station and cut through the hull plating of the station as if it were nothing, setting off a series of explosions.

"Stay here Naomi. I don't want you to set foot outside Legaia." B'Elanna ordered as she opened the hatch. "Legaia, if they get too close to you, take them down."

"Understood," Legaia said as she closed and locked the hatch.

When B'Elanna stepped outside she was met with the charred wreckage that used to be the observation deck of the space station.

"_Where are you Seven?" _B'Elanna thought to herself as she looked around.

Almost as if in answer to her question she could feel where the young woman was. Going with her instincts, B'Elanna navigated through the wreckage in the direction of the internal pull.

B'Elanna entered a hallway to be met with a group of four armed Socadan soldiers. "You will surrender immediately." The leader ordered, aiming his phaser at B'Elanna.

"I don't think so." B'Elanna said, running at them at a speed that was impossible for any normal Klingon. She was moving so fast that she seemed a blur to the Socadan guards.

A quick punch to the leader's chest sent him flying down the corridor where he slammed into a wall with a sickening crunch. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that he was dead.

Before the other three could even react B'Elanna was already in the air, delivering a kick to the neck of the guard on the left that slammed him into the side wall. She then used the momentum of the kick to send a punch to the temple of the guard on the right, knocking him out as well.

B'Elanna grabbed the last remaining guard by the collar and jacked him up against the wall. "Where are Carkonas and Callik?" She demanded menacingly.

"Down the corridor, take a left. It's the third door on your right." The guard said, now quaking with fear.

"You'd better be telling the truth." B'Elanna said as she slammed him into the wall. "You do not want to see me again."

B'Elanna then took off down the hall at a dead run. She had to get to Seven as fast possible. There was no telling what degree of damage the space station had sustained and whether it would hold together or explode.

Finally B'Elanna reached the room the guard had told her to go to, but instead of opening the door she kicked it in.

Carkonas and Callik looked up suddenly from the examination table. To them, B'Elanna must have been an impressive sight. Her hair was flowing wildly around her face, her stance oozed self confidence and her eyes looked as if they were boring into them.

"I thought I killed you." Callik said as he stepped towards her, revealing the form of Seven tied down to the table.

"I am going to make you pay." B'Elanna promised as she began to circle him.

"Well you did do such a good job last time, mongrel." Callik mocked her.

"This time it's going to be different." B'Elanna said as ran towards him, using the wall as a spring board to send a vicious blow to the side of his head, sending him flying back a good ten feet.

"Not bad," Callik admitted as he slowly stood up, rubbing the sore spot on the side of his head. "But I'm no ordinary Socadan."

Callik surprised B'Elanna when he stood up. A punch like that should have literally separated his head from his shoulders.

"Duranium enforced bones." Callik said with a smirk as he ran at B'Elanna, ready to strike.

B'Elanna used her speed to dodge the series of punches from Callik and delivered a combination of her own, sending him sprawling.

"How?" Callik asked in disbelief as he rolled onto his back, gasping for air. "You were dead, I should know. Now you're stronger than you were before?"

"Omega chose me." B'Elanna said simply as she kicked him in the ribs and sent him flying into the back wall, knocking him out.

"Stay back." Carkonas said, unable to hide his fear as he pointed his phaser at her.

"Do you really think that you can stop me with that?" B'Elanna asked as she advanced on him.

"Get back!" Carkonas shouted as he backed into the corner. For the first time in many years he knew fear. Next to Seven, Callik was his greatest achievement. It would take at least 50 heavily armed Socadan to take Callik down, and this mongrel had done it all by herself.

Carkonas didn't even get the chance to fire his phaser because in the next moment B'Elanna was in front of him. She grabbed the hand that held the phaser and squeezed.

Carkonas couldn't hold back the screams as his hand was crushed against phaser. His bones shattered under the pressure and what was left of the phaser dug into his hand. It only stopped when he passed out from the pain.

"B'Elanna." Seven shouted from the examination table, unable to believe that B'Elanna was alive.

"Seven," B'Elanna said as she rushed over to Seven and untied her.

"You are not real." Seven said as tears ran down her cheeks and she tried to get out of B'Elanna's grasp

"It's me Seven." B'Elanna said, refusing to let go of Seven, instead pulling her into a hug.

"I saw, they killed you." Seven said as she stopped struggling.

"They did kill me." B'Elanna said. "But Omega brought me back. It said that I'm supposed to protect you." She said as she cupped Seven's face in her hands. "Look into my eyes. You have to know that it's me." She pleaded.

Seven looked up into B'Elanna's eyes. A few things had changed about her but the eyes were the same. "It is you." Seven choked out as she hugged her. "I thought I'd lost you."

"You'll never lose me, Seven." B'Elanna promised. "I will always be with you, but we have to get out of here. I boarded this space station by ramming it and piercing the hull. I don't know how much damage I did."

"Anti matter relays have been damaged." A computerized voice said. "Please evacuate sections 7,9,12, and 18 immediately. Lock down will commence in ten minutes."

"The space station must have taken more damage than I thought. We have to get out of here before this section is closed off." B'Elanna said as she took Seven's hand and led her out of the examination room.

"Surrender immediately!" A guard shouted as he raised his weapon, followed by at least another 150 guards on either side of Seven and B'Elanna.

B'Elanna may have been tough but she knew she was no match for 150 well armed guards.

There was also the fact that half of them were aiming at Seven as well. She may have had a chance if she was by herself, but she knew she wouldn't be able to save both of them.

To Be Continued…

Just a small cliff this time, well kind of. Relative to the cliffs I usually leave.

Please just review! And take into account how fast this chapter came out.


	20. Is it the End?

Evolutions I: An Act of Betrayal

Part Twenty

_There was also the fact that half of them were aiming at Seven as well. She may have had a chance if she was by herself, but she knew she wouldn't be able to save both of them._

B'Elanna having no choice was about to surrender when she heard a loud grinding noise getting closer.

Everyone turned quickly to see where the sound was coming from, and were all surprised to see Legaia ram through a wall with its weapons ports opened and ready to fire.

"Lower your weapons immediately or we will open fire." They all heard Naomi's voice from inside Legaia.

None of the guards responded, most too shocked to even do anything.

Legaia took this as an act of aggression and shot nine phaser beams towards the guards. Each shop met its mark and melted the guard's weapons.

The guards that were hit immediately dropped their weapons in both shock and pain. Some wondered how a ship's targeting could be so precise, others just grateful that they were alive.

"Drop your weapons immediately." Legaia said this time.

The reaction was almost immediate as they all dropped their weapons and stepped away from the hybrids carefully.

As Seven and B'Elanna boarded Legaia Seven finally found her voice. "How is this possible?" Seven asked. "The Socadan never exposed you to Omega."

"I've honestly have no idea." B'Elanna admitted. "The only thing I can think of was the time on the space station when we were attacked. You used that light to heal me, but I didn't feel any different afterwards. There must have been something else."

"It is strange. Your transformation was completed in mere hours, while mine took days." Seven said. "For a transformation of that magnitude it must have been absorbed directly into your cell structure, but an occurrence like that would more likely destroy your body."

"I met those voices you told me about too." B'Elanna said as they entered the bridge. "They told me I had to choose between going to the after life and having the strength to protect you."

"Thank you." Seven said sincerely.

"There's no way I could have just died. I couldn't leave you alone Seven. With or without Omega, I would have come for you." B'Elanna admitted. "They also said that you were going to become an Avatar. Some people aren't going to like that, there's going to be others that try something like this. I chose to be your protector to help you do this."

"The voices have told me much the same thing. They believe I will do something that will change the universe." Seven said.

"I know we can do it together." B'Elanna said as the door to the bridge opened.

Almost immediately Seven was pounced on by Naomi. "Seven, I knew B'Elanna would find you. Are you okay? Did they hurt you again?"

"No, B'Elanna saved me." Seven said as she smiled and hugged Naomi.

"We must leave immediately." Legaia said as it lifted off and tore another hole through the space station on its way out.

"You know we could have just used the hole we came in through." B'Elanna said in amusement.

"Correct. But where would be the fun in that?" Legaia asked, to the laughter of B'Elanna.

"We have cleared the space station." Seven announced.

A few seconds after Seven spoke, a series of explosions rocked the space station. If it had not been for Legaia's shields and inertial dampers, all three of the ship's occupants would have ended up sprawled out on the floor.

"What do we do now?" Naomi asked. "We don't have to go back to Voyager, and they don't have the fire power to attack us either."

"We must return to Voyager." Seven said, not liking what had to be done.

"What are you talking about, Seven? Why would we ever want to go back?" B'Elanna asked, confused.

"Do you remember when I had that feeling when we found Legaia?" Seven asked.

"Something I am eternally grateful for." Legaia interrupted.

"You are welcome." Seven responded. "And I believe that you have repaid the favor."

"Are you getting the same feeling about going back to Voyager?" B'Elanna asked bringing the conversation back to the original topic.

"I am. A part of what I am to do requires us to be on Voyager. Something is going to happen soon, something of great importance." Seven said.

"Is it the big universe changing thing?" Naomi asked curiously.

"No, but I believe it will be a necessary step towards the change." Seven replied.

"Alright," B'Elanna agreed. "Legaia set a course back to Voyager."

"Acknowledged," Legaia responded.

"I'm never going to let you out of my sight again." B'Elanna said as she wrapped her arms around Seven and kissed her deeply.

"You are taller than me now." Seven observed as she looked up into B'Elanna's eyes before placing her head underneath B'Elanna's chin. "Your body has changed as well." She remarked as she ran her hands up and down B'Elanna's strong arms.

"Do you have to do that in front of me?" Naomi joked, shielding her eyes. "I hate it when you guys get all mushy."

"We should probably slow down." B'Elanna admitted. "If we keep up this pace we're going to have to get a more private room." B'Elanna said, winking suggestively.

"I do not see a problem with that." Seven smiled up at B'Elanna.

"We are approaching Voyager." Legaia interrupted. "I am detecting two Socadan battle cruisers. Voyager is heavily damaged."

"Go to battle mode, and hail the lead ship." B'Elanna said as she reluctantly separated herself from Seven.

The view screen turned on, and the hybrids were met with the sight of a very smug looking Socadan General.

"You must be the drone Carkonas wanted." He said as he eyed Seven.

"You will stop firing on Voyager." Seven ordered.

"I doubt very much that you can make us." He responded.

"If you do not stop, we will stop you. Comply." Seven ordered.

"Do not presume to give me orders, Drone." The General said as he closed the link.

"They are firing at us." Legaia said as the ship trembled slightly.

"Target their weapons and shield generators." B'Elanna ordered. "Take them offline permanently." B'Elanna gave the command to fire.

"Missiles away, direct hits. Their weapons and shields are disabled. All offensive and defensive capabilities neutralized permanently." Legaia informed them after a few seconds.

"Target the second ship." Seven ordered. "Disable their weapons and shield but try not to harm them." Seven requested.

"Acknowledged," Legaia said as it fired another pair of missiles. "Two direct hits. Weapons and engines are offline."

"Hail Voyager." B'Elanna ordered.

The view screen changed to a picture of the Federation starship's bridge. It had definitely seen better days. Most of the consoles had been damaged during the battle. The crew looked exhausted and a few of them were bleeding from shrapnel wounds.

"What's your status?" B'Elanna asked.

"We're heavily damaged." Janeway admitted. "If you hadn't showed up we probably wouldn't have lasted much longer."

"Do you have any injured?" Seven asked.

"Yes, reports are still coming in." Tuvok answered.

"Open the shuttle bay doors." B'Elanna said. "We'll see what we can do to help."

"Thank you." Janeway said as she motioned for Tuvok to open the doors. "I'll meet you there."

Legaia made it inside the shuttle bay with little difficulty. As soon as they stepped out of the ship they were met with the haggard faces of Janeway and Chakotay.

"I guess we should start in Engineering." B'Elanna said with a sigh.

"What about the injured?" Seven asked.

"Mr. Paris is doing the best he can. Everyone seems to have refused treatment from the doctor." Janeway said.

"You should go to Engineering, B'Elanna. I will go to sickbay and see what I can do." Seven suggested.

"Do you have any medical training?" Chakotay asked.

"My cortical node holds the medical knowledge of thousands of species. I will have no problem in sickbay." Seven answered.

"Keep an open comm link." B'Elanna said as she handed one of the communicators she had found on Legaia to Seven. "If anything happens, I'll be there." B'Elanna said, not liking the idea of leaving Seven alone but realizing that they were both needed in different places.

"Yes B'Elanna." Seven agreed as she took the communicator.

"Naomi, will you accompany me to sick bay?" Seven asked.

"Sure Seven." Naomi said as she took Seven's hand.

Naomi and Seven walked into sickbay to find Mr. Paris frantically running around trying to help everyone at once.

"We will need to know everyone's injuries before we begin helping them." Seven said as she walked up to Paris and collected a tricorder.

"You're back, Seven?" Paris asked.

"There is not enough time to talk about this now." Seven said. "We must begin scanning them." Seven said as she took one side of the room with Naomi in tow.

Paris and Seven had the situation assessed in about ten minutes. They were finally able to take a step back and see who needed the most help.

"Thanks for coming back, Seven, I couldn't have done this on my own." Paris said.

"I am compelled to help people, now more than ever." Seven responded. "Please assist me with Crewman Jenkins. He has a broken arm and a gash on his forehead."

Paris helped Jenkins onto the bio-bed where Seven cleaned the wound on his forehead and then ran a dermal regenerator over the gash. She then realigned the bones in his arm as gently as possible, and ran a bone knitter over it.

"You may return to duty, crewman." Seven said as she turned to look for the next person on the list.

B'Elanna walked into Engineering, but had to stop to make sure she was in the right room. Everything was in shambles. _'It looks like the ship took a real pounding.'_ B'Elanna thought to herself.

"Have you finished the damage report?" B'Elanna asked as she pulled Carey to the side.

"B'Elanna, you're back." Carey said, surprised to see her.

"For now, do you have the damage report or not?" B'Elanna asked, getting impatient.

"Yeah," Carey said with a sigh. "There are hull breaches on decks three, five and six. Warp engines are down, weapons are offline and sensors are damaged."

"Ok, fixing the hull is top priority, followed by weapons, sensors and then the engines." B'Elanna accessed the situation. "How many teams do you have working on the breaches?"

"I've already dispatched three and I'm sending a fourth. I have another three teams working on weapons, two are working on sensors, and I have three working on the engines." Carey informed her.

"Pull one of the teams from weapons and get them to work on the breaches. Pull the second team from sensors and put them on the breaches as well, I don't want to use any more power than we have to on emergency shields. Pull two teams out of the engines and send them to the bridge. Not many of the consoles were working when we took a look." B'Elanna ordered.

Carey nodded and began to re-arrange the teams.

"Legaia to B'Elanna," Legaia said through the comm.

"Go ahead Legaia," B'Elanna said as she pulled out her communicator.

"I have been discussing it with Seven and we both feel that it would be a good idea if I patrol around Voyager until sensors are operational." Legaia said.

"That's a good idea." B'Elanna answered. "Do what you can." she closed the communicator.

"All department heads please report to my ready room." Janeway said, using a ship wide announcement.

"Don't worry about it, Carey." B'Elanna said, already going to the door. "You just make sure all the teams are repairing Voyager by priority."

When B'Elanna finally made it to the ready room she found that everyone else was already there, except for Paris who was most likely still in sickbay. She took the seat Seven had saved for her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"How are things going in sickbay?" B'Elanna asked.

"As well as can be expected," Seven said as she held onto B'Elanna's hand.

"Voyager has to be ready to go as soon as possible." B'Elanna said addressing the senior staff.

"Do you know why they attacked us?" Tuvok queried.

"The space station must have been able to send a message out before we attacked." B'Elanna answered, knowing that the communications array was destroyed on Legaia's entrance. "Seven, and myself to a lesser extent, is extremely valuable to them now. They wanted to destroy Voyager so that we wouldn't have any place to go. They must have been able to scan Legaia and figure out that it was not 100 operational yet."

"From what we've seen, it appears that your ship is more than capable of holding its own against them." Janeway said, recalling their dramatic entrance and the short work they'd made of the Socadan ships.

"Although Legaia is a formidable ship, repairs take time, and the Socadan have numerical superiority." Seven informed them. "I also feel that we must remain on Voyager for the time being. Something very important will happen soon, and we'll need to be here for it."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked. "What's going to happen?"

"I am uncertain." Seven said. "I only know that it will be something very big."

"We have other things to worry about." B'Elanna said, wanting to keep the crew from asking Seven too many questions as she was clearly uncomfortable answering. "I've talked to Seven about it on the way here, and seeing those two battle cruisers only confirmed it. They're not going to let us go without a fight. They're most likely going to send their flag ship against us. We only took out the engines, shields and weapons of those ships. They still have communications."

"How much time do we have?" Chakotay asked, getting worried. He honestly hadn't thought about something like this happening.

"We have between six and eight hours." Seven estimated.

"How do we stop them?" Janeway asked. Clearly Seven and B'Elanna knew more about what was going on than the rest of them.

"We must first cripple their flag ship, and leave Socadan space immediately." Seven told them.

"Only cripple them?" Chakotay asked. "From what I've seen, your ship would have no problem destroying it."

"I do not enjoy destroying lives, Commander. I have done more than enough for one lifetime." Seven said. B'Elanna rubbed her arm comfortingly. "There is also the fact that they will never stop hunting us if we destroy their flag ship. Not all off the Socadan wish to capture us. Many of them feel that what the government allowed to happen was wrong, but if we destroyed their flag ship it will be perceived as an act of war. If we simply cripple them, they will have to return home in shame and be punished for what they have attempted to do."

"If it's that simple why are we rushing around trying to get Voyager fixed? We all saw how fast your ship took down their battle cruisers." Harry said.

"They call it a flag ship for a reason, Kim." B'Elanna said. "It's going to be a lot more powerful than a couple of their battle cruisers. We have to work together if we want to survive."

"How long will it be until Voyager is repaired?" Janeway asked.

"With all the engineering teams working as fast as they can, everything should be repaired in another four or five hours." B'Elanna reported.

"That's cutting things pretty fine." Harry observed.

"How are the injured, Seven?" Janeway asked, afraid to discover the number of casualties.

"Mr. Paris and I have already treated the most injured patients. All that is left is minor injuries, no deaths." Seven reported.

"Well that's something to be grateful for." Janeway breathed a sigh of relief.

"I suggest we all return to our tasks and discuss battle plans in another three hours." Seven said, standing up.

"I agree." B'Elanna stood up as well.

"Chakotay and I will put a few scenarios together." Janeway ended the meeting.

"We will see you soon." Seven said for herself and Naomi as she kissed B'Elanna goodbye.

"I'll call you every hour to make sure you're okay." B'Elanna promised as they left the ready room.

For the most part the repairs were finished pretty quickly. No one even thought to question B'Elanna's orders. Most of the crew was walking on eggshells around the hybrids. None of them wanted to be the one to push them away again, especially as, after everything that had happened, the hybrids had come back to save them.

Seven was in much the same situation as B'Elanna. It was no secret that the crew owed their survival of the battle to the hybrids, now added to that was the medical treatment that Seven was giving them. Paris was only trained as a medic and had nowhere near the experience that was necessary.

B'Elanna, Seven and Naomi met the senior staff in the ready room at the appointed time.

Everyone in sickbay had been treated and was ready to go back to their duties and B'Elanna reported that all the repairs would be completed within the hour.

"So Seven, what can you tell us about the Socadan flag ship?" Janeway asked.

"I do not have much information on it, only that it is considerably more powerful than a battle cruiser." Seven answered.

"I thought you knew about them." Janeway said in confusion.

"I only know the information that is in my cortical node. It does not contain any new information since the last time I was connected to the hive mind." Seven responded.

"So what you're saying is we have no idea what we're up against." Chakotay said.

"I know that the Socadan will only send the flag ship. They are over-confident and believe that it will be an easy victory." Seven ignored Chakotay's tone.

"How do you know that they will not follow us out of Socadan space?" Tuvok asked.

"Their agreement with the Borg still stands. They will not risk an encounter with them." Seven said.

"I suggest you stop questioning how Seven knows what she knows and prepare for battle." B'Elanna said, annoyed with said the badgering. "Legaia has finished her scans of the battle cruisers and has come up with some possible weaknesses to their ships." Seven said as she passed a data pad to Janeway. "The shielding around their warp nacelles is weak at theses two points." Seven pointed to the stern of the ship. "Two well placed photon torpedoes should disable their engines."

"If we target their deflector dish with an inverted tachyon pulse it will send a feed back loop to all their major systems. It would take them at least 24 hours to be fully operational after that." B'Elanna added.

"That sounds like a plan to me." Harry said.

"It's not that simple." B'Elanna said. "Their deflector dish is heavily shielded. We have to bombard their shield generators with phaser pulses until they go offline before we can start."

"How do you propose we do that?" Janeway asked. "I don't see them sitting still long enough for this to work."

"We have to do three simultaneous attacks. Voyager will have to go after their warp nacelles while Legaia targets their deflector dish." B'Elanna said. "At the same time we will both fire on other points on the ship to keep them occupied. Once they figure out what we're trying to do they will divert all available power to shields in the areas that we hope to destroy. If we aim for the bridge, shuttle bay and sensor grid they hopefully won't figure out what we're doing until it's too late."

"I never realized you knew so much about strategy." Janeway said, impressed.

"I didn't." B'Elanna admitted. "Since I merged with Omega it gave me the necessary skills to perform my duty to the best of my ability."

"It means a lot to us that you can trust us enough to stay." Janeway said addressing all three of the hybrids.

"We have a mutually beneficial situation. Regardless of the circumstances of your betrayal the fact still remains that you destroyed our trust in you." Seven said. "What happened cannot simply be forgotten. It will be a very long time before you can even begin to make up for it."

"I don't know what else to do, Seven. We gave you our word that we would never allow something like this to happen again. That is the only assurance that I will ever be able to give you." Janeway said.

"Carey to Janeway," Lt. Carey interrupted.

"Go ahead," Janeway said as she tapped her comm. badge.

"Voyager is fully repaired. We're ready to go at anytime." Carey said.

"Thank you Lt." Janeway said as she closed the link.

"I just finished with the last patient." Paris said as he walked in. "What did I miss?"

"Now that everyone's here we should discuss your commissions." Janeway said as Paris was brought up to speed by Tuvok.

"We've already made our decision, Janeway." B'Elanna said. "When I resigned my commission I meant it. I will not be a part of Starfleet or the Maquis any longer." B'Elanna said adamantly.

"I will also not again be a part of Starfleet." Seven agreed.

"What do you propose, then?" Janeway asked. "If you have both decided to remain on Voyager, what will you do?"

"B'Elanna, Naomi and I have discussed it and we believe that we will remain as civilians. B'Elanna will return to engineering as its civilian head and I wish to take over the post of medical officer." Seven said.

"Seven knows what she's doing." Paris offered his opinion. "If I had to guess I would say that she knows even more than the doctor did."

"I guess I'll have to accept that. I'll make the official announcements after we deal with the Socadan." Janeway said.

"Captain, we're detecting a ship approaching." The officer on watch said over the comm.

The hybrids and the senior staff quickly made their way onto the bridge.

"Put it on screen," Janeway said as she took her seat.

"It is the Socadan flag ship." Seven announced as she got a good look at it.

"How long will it be until the ship arrives?" Janeway asked.

"It's going to get here in two hours." Harry said from his station.

"I suggest you shut down all non-essential systems. You will need the extra power for shields and weapons." Seven said from beside B'Elanna and Naomi.

"Harry, start work on that." Janeway ordered.

"B'Elanna to Legaia," B'Elanna said as she took out her communicator.

"Legaia here," Legaia answered.

"Return to the shuttle bay. The Socadan are going to be here in less than two hours." B'Elanna said.

"Acknowledged," Legaia said as it ended its patrol and returned to the shuttle bay.

"We're going to Legaia to prepare for the battle." B'Elanna said as she and the hybrids left the bridge.

The three women quickly made their way back to Legaia. They had their own preparations to make before the battle. Everything had to be done perfectly, with little or no room for error.

"Legaia, are we ready?" B'Elanna asked when they boarded.

"I have analyzed the systems for the two battle cruisers. I am adapting my systems to better handle the battle." Legaia informed them.

"Take us outside, Legaia." Seven said as she took her seat. "We will take a defensive stance beside Voyager."

Legaia lifted off and exited the shuttle bay with practiced ease.

"We are being hailed by Voyager." Legaia announced when they got outside.

"Put it on screen." B'Elanna said as she turned to face the view screen.

"We're all ready over here." Janeway said. "What about you?"

"We are as ready as we'll ever be. I suggest that we maintain radio silence until the Socadan threat has been dealt with." Seven responded.

"I concur. Good luck." She said as she closed the link.

"We are being hailed by the Socadan." Legaia said a few moments later.

The screen lit up for the second time as the hybrids got their first look at the inside of the Socadan flag ship.

"You will return the drone to us immediately." The Captain ordered. "The rest of you will be brought up on charges for destruction of Socadan property." He said, referring to the space station.

"Seven doesn't belong to you and we're not going to give up without a fight." B'Elanna said.

"Very well," the Socadan captain said smugly. He was completely sure of his victory. "We will take you by force." He said as he gave the order to bring weapons and shields online.

"Here we go." B'Elanna said as Legaia closed the link. "Go to battle mode, Legaia."

Legaia immediately powered up. It knew that losing this fight was not an option.

"Target the shield generators around their deflector dish." B'Elanna said as Legaia expertly avoided the flag ship's phaser blasts.

"Voyager is moving into position." Seven said from her station. "They have begun their attack on the flag ship's nacelles."

"Direct hit to their deflector dish shields." Legaia announced. "Their shields have dropped to 85."

"They are re-routing power to their shields." Seven announced. "I suggest we send a torpedo to their bridge."

"I agree," B'Elanna said. "Legaia send a torpedo to their bridge, maximum yield."

"Direct hit, shielding around the bridge has dropped to 72." Legaia analyzed.

"Voyager has been hit by the rear phaser cannons." Seven said. "Legaia, target the flag ship's phaser cannons and fire."

Legaia obeyed, and they were rewarded by the rear phaser banks going off line. Just as suddenly, Legaia had taken damage as well. The flag ship scored three direct hits to Legaia's engines.

"Shields around my engines have dropped to 57" Legaia announced.

"They are considerably more powerful than I estimated." Seven revealed.

"Legaia, return to our primary goal. Target the deflector dish and launch torpedoes, full spread." B'Elanna ordered.

"Acknowledged, four direct hits, their shield generator are down to 11." Legaia announced.

"Voyager has brought shields down to 15 around the nacelles." Seven said, looking up from her screen.

"We are being hailed again." Legaia announced.

"Put it on screen." B'Elanna said.

"We give you one chance to surrender." The Captain of the flag ship threatened. "If you come peacefully we will be lenient."

"We offer you the same chance." Seven said, seeing right through his bluff. "We do not wish to destroy you, but we will if necessary." She said as the link closed.

Another torpedo from Legaia brought down the shields around the deflector dish.

Seven quickly programmed the deflector dish and sent out the inverse tachyon pulse. The effects were almost instantaneous. The shields shut down. Weapons went offline, and the once powerful flag ship was reduced to running on emergency power.

Voyager, quick to take advantage, destroyed the engines of the flag ship. They had won the battle with seemingly only minor damage. They had both taken some big hits but all of their major systems were still operational and no one was seriously injured.

"Voyager is hailing us." Legaia said as she put it on screen.

"It looks like everything worked out." Janeway said with a relieved look on her face.

"It appears so." Seven said with a small smile on her face.

"I am detecting another vessel." Legaia interrupted as it shifted back to battle mode, followed shortly by Voyager going to red alert.

"Who are they?" B'Elanna asked. She didn't know if they had it in them for another battle like the last one.

"It is a Borg science vessel." Legaia said as she put the image on screen. "They are scanning us."

"Can you block them?" Seven asked desperately.

"Negative, their scans have penetrated my shields." Legaia said.

"Target them, they can't be allowed to report back to the hive mind." B'Elanna said as Legaia opened fire.

The ship was quickly destroyed in a fiery green explosion.

"Were they able to send any communications?" Seven asked.

"I detected a transmission before they were destroyed." Legaia admitted. "We are being hailed again by Voyager."

"Put it on screen." Seven said.

"What the heck just happened?" Janeway asked, clearly not expecting that turn of events.

"A Borg science vessel just scanned us." Seven said as she looked up at the view screen.

"I don't see the problem. You just destroyed them. They aren't a threat anymore." Janeway said.

"They were able to send a transmission before we destroyed them. The Queen knows we have merged with Omega and how powerful Legaia is. In her eyes we are what the Borg have been trying to become since the beginning. We are their vision of perfection. They will be coming for us." Seven said as full realization hit the crew of Voyager.

They would have to face down the Borg, not as Picard had done, merely fighting a few drones on a small ship. They would be fighting against every single Borg in existence, alone, trapped in the Delta Quadrant.

The journey back home had suddenly become infinitely more dangerous.

The End

Thank you everyone for supporting my story and for everyone's helpful review and tips. It's been a little over a year but it's finally finished. The first part of my trilogy, the first fan fiction that I have ever written is finally finished. I hope you enjoyed then ending and my now classic cliff hanger ending. I will do my best to get Part two up as soon as I can.

I'm also planning on doing a few changes to the story I never had time to do before. Don't worry about me changing the storyline again, it's mainly just small bug fixes like the spelling Naiomi's name. I'm told it should be Naomi. I also plan on adding a bit more description to people and place, as I have also received comments on.

If anyone can think of any other errors I made while writing this story please review or if you just want to pat me on the back for a job well and finally done please review!

I also hope this inspires some other writers not to leave us hanging for the conclusions to their stories. You all know who you are so get writing!

I guess that's all for now. Stay tuned for Evolutions II: The Quest for Perfection (unless I can think of a better title for it soon.)

PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW!


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